


Between the Cards

by Woofemus



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Ficlet Collection, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-07-10 08:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 55
Words: 27,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6974854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woofemus/pseuds/Woofemus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of nozoeli writings (updated 9/2/16)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes I forget that it was nozoeli that tripped me headfirst into love live hell
> 
> With that said, a collection of all the nozoeli writing I've done from tumblr, mostly requests. Will be updated in batches at a time until I get caught up. Hopefully I catch any mistakes as I post them up but they're more or less the same stories from my tumblr.

“Welcome to my home,” Nozomi murmurs, swallowing down the knot in her throat. Her anxiety only increases when Eli remains in the doorway, looking all around her. There isn’t even much to look at, not when the only piece of furniture she has in the living room is a dining table and three chairs, one for her and two for her parents when they come visit.

“I-I’ll make some tea then,” she says with a nervous laugh, almost stumbling to the kitchen in her haste to do something. “You can just take a seat at the table.”

Nozomi tries not to sigh, because the silence will make it echo throughout the tiny room. After the tea finishes, she carefully brings it to the table where Eli sits, face strangely impassive as she continues to glance all around the empty room. Nozomi takes the seat in front of her, trying to smile.

Before Nozomi can break the tension, Eli looks at her. “Doesn’t it get lonely?” she asks, the first thing she’s said since coming in, voice quiet. Nozomi closes her mouth. She runs her finger along the rim of her cup, humming softly.

“I’m used to it,” she finally says with a shrug, keeping her eyes down. Nozomi isn’t sure if she wants to see what sort of face Eli is making right now nor does she think she could look at her right now. It takes a while for Eli to speak again.

“Nozomi, if… if you… want…” Eli clears her throat, “you… can always invite me over and… I won’t mind. B-because… you’re… you’re my friend too.”

Nozomi stops her finger, slowly bringing her head up. Eli is blushing, her eyes darting everywhere trying to look at everything not Nozomi. Though Nozomi’s first instinct is to tease her, no words come to her. Instead, she rubs at the corners of her eyes, glad that Eli isn’t looking at her right now.

“I’d like that,“ Nozomi only says.


	2. Chapter 2

“Nozomi! Come here!" Nozomi straightened herself from where she was bent over looking at bowls and plates. Turning around, she found Eli a little ways behind her, holding something in her hands with a grin.

"Elicchi, what is it?” Nozomi asked as soon as she walked closer, trying to see what made her so excited. 

“Should we get these?” Eli held up two mugs, both of them decorated with bright colors and shapes. What caught her attention was the fox on one cup and a raccoon on the other. It made her smile. “Look!" 

"I see it.” Nozomi took the cup with the fox from Eli, turning it over in her hands. “It’s really cute." 

"So can we get them?” Eli turned to her with a hopeful look in her eyes. Nozomi felt bad for what she had to say next. 

“Elichi, we’ve already bought _another_ set of matching cups last week. I don’t think we have any more space in our cupboard if you bought another one.” She had to fight the urge to take her words back when Eli’s face fell. “Maybe next time though?”

“No, you’re right, we have too many.” Eli put the mugs away, though her eyes still lingered on them. Nozomi had to try not to laugh. Usually it was the other way around, with Eli being the one who had to put her foot down to prevent Nozomi from filling their home with all sorts of miscellaneous things. 

“We should get out of here before we buy more things than we need,” Nozomi finally said. “We were supposed to get groceries, you know. We’re not going to have dinner at this point.” Eli gasped at her words.

“Oh! We have to go now to pick up the discounts!" 

Nozomi laughed as Eli grabbed her hand, dragging them out. Though Eli tugged on her hand to urge her faster, she made sure to remember the name of the store, smiling secretively to herself for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Now that Honoka and the others had taken over the student council, Eli and Nozomi found themselves with more free time than they ever had. At least, it seemed like it, when they weren’t busy practicing with μ’s or cramming for entrance exams.

Even when they did have time to themselves though, they were more likely to spend it relaxing at a cafe with parfaits, idly chatting their time away. She liked those times, when it was only Eli and her, without having to worry about school or keeping appearances up with their classmates.

So Nozomi had to admit she was a _little_ confused when they were suddenly inside an arcade, the same one all of μ’s had gone to.

Nozomi never had the pleasure of being able to go to places like the arcade or karaoke with others, much less _friends._ The only time she had been to an arcade was with the nine of them and she enjoyed it. But it was only Eli and her here now. It was… a little daunting and exciting, with only the two of them. With all the electronics buzzing all around though, she felt like she was going to get dizzy instead. Eli’s hand on her shoulder made her look away to where her friend was pointing at.

“This is the machine you use to take pictures right?” Eli asked, glancing at the machine next to them.

“Think so,” Nozomi said, trying to see if there was something to confirm their suspicions. Eli only hesitated for another second before pushing aside the curtain and going inside. Nozomi waited for a moment before joining her.

“… there’s a lot more space when we’re not all crammed into this thing,” Eli said with a laugh. She turned to Nozomi with a small smile. “Wanna take some?”

“Really?” Nozomi blinked at her.

“Yeah! Let’s do it.”

“You just want to draw on my face,” Nozomi teased.

“O-of course not!” Eli’s answer was a dead giveaway. Nozomi grinned.

Afterward, Nozomi looked at the pictures in her hand, trying not to laugh at them. In one of them, Eli had given Nozomi cat whiskers and cat ears to match her sly expression. In another, she managed to steal the pen from Eli and drew a twirly mustache and with how Eli held her finger up, it looked as if she was twirling it around her finger.

“There! That was still pretty fun, even with just the two of us,” Eli said, laughing to herself.

“It was,” Nozomi agreed with a soft smile, still looking down at the pictures. She looked back up at Eli. “So, was there a reason you wanted to do this?”

“Um!” The laughter Eli let out was forced. “No reason!”

“Really,” Nozomi said with a quirk of her brow. Eli managed to hold her resolve for a few more seconds before she sighed.

“Um… the other day, I was with the others and when Rin was taking out her wallet, a picture of her and Hanayo fell out. They take them in these booths all the time. Then, everyone started showing their pictures in their wallets. Do you know how much Hanayo and Rin have?! And then, Kotori showed me all the pictures with her, Honoka, and Umi. So…” Eli smiled bashfully.

“I wanted… to have us take a picture together too,” Eli’s face was flushed, “so I could — er, we could put it in our wallets. And it isn’t as if we do a lot of things outside of school together too so…”

“… ah,” Nozomi could only say, because even _she_ was flustered as well. She looked down at the pictures Eli and her had taken. The thought that she could have a picture of Elicchi with her at all times… she was sure that if she were by herself, she would have giggled herself silly. But she was with Eli and she didn’t want to be the one teased.

Even so, she still couldn’t stop smiling as she gently ran her fingers over the pictures. “Do you want to go back to my place, and we can cut them together?” Nozomi asked softly. Eli only looked at her shyly before she nodded, smiling sheepishly.


	4. Chapter 4

Eli rolled over, mumbling to herself as she pushed her face into the pillow. Consciousness began to return, though very slowly, as it often did when she didn’t want to fully get up. She was wondering why she was awake though, until she realized there was something soft and wet on her face.

“Really… Nozo–” a tongue licked her mouth and she giggled, rolling over again. The licking on her face continued, even more enthusiastic now. “Haha, Nozomi, that tickles.”

There was frantic pawing at her blankets, trying to move them from her face. Was Nozomi feeling playful this morning? She pulled the blankets down halfway, rolling onto her back.

A claw stabbed at her eyes.

“Gah!” Eli shot upright, clutching at her face. Vaguely, she was aware that something landed on top of her. After spending several moments rubbing her eyes furiously to ease the pain, she snapped her head downward. A small, brown puppy was there, sticking its tongue out as it looked at her expectantly. 

_“Hey! I’m going on vacation with my family for a few days! Can you help me take care of my puppy? Thanks!”_

Eli blinked rapidly as she began to remember. Honoka went on vacation and there was no one else that could take care of her new puppy.

The puppy tried to climb up, wanting to reach her face again as it began to lick the air. Even despite nearly getting her eyes poked out, Eli couldn’t help but smile exasperatedly, reaching down with her hand and scratching it behind its ears, smiling even wider as it leaned into her touch. 

A giggle from next to the bed made her freeze. Already suspecting the worst, she slowly turned her head. Nozomi grinned at her, camcorder in hand.

“So, how did you like my tongue?” Nozomi only asked, sticking her tongue out playfully.

Eli looked at her for a moment, before her face soured. She threw the covers back over her head, hiding herself from view, ignoring Nozomi’s laughter.

… but not before she took the puppy underneath with her. 


	5. Chapter 5

Nozomi suddenly pauses when she realizes everyone’s ahead of her now, taking a moment to watch them all. The snow only continues to fall and if they wait any longer, the adrenaline from their performance will surely run out and they’ll freeze to death and miss Love Live a second time, Nozomi thinks with faint laughter.

Even so, she can’t help but feel like she’s bursting inside. How couldn’t she be, after performing a song like that, performing something that _everyone_ helped write together? 

Everyone’s ahead of her right now, trying to get back into the warm building before inevitably becoming distracted. Umi’s trying to goad everyone into getting into the building as fast as they can, getting increasingly frustrated as Honoka and Kotori run in circles around her, laughing wildly. Meanwhile, Nico is stomping and rubbing her arms before she latches onto an increasingly disgruntled Maki, whose irritation only grows when Hanayo clings onto her other arm in an attempt to warm herself up. Meanwhile, Rin is trying to subtly build snowballs behind them. Eli stands a little ways off, the only one who even looks mildly comfortable in this weather as she shakes her head exasperatedly at them.

Nozomi crinkles her eyes as she comes to stand next to Eli, smiling gently. Eli glances down at her, about to tell her to hurry back into the building when she stops, noticing Nozomi’s grabbed onto her glove.

“I think, I’m really happy,” Nozomi finally murmurs, her breath coming out in a short, white puff. Eli follows her gaze, to where the rest of μ’s is fooling around, cheerful and rambunctious.

Nozomi feels her hand being taken in the next second as Eli grips it tight. Even though the snow is still falling and the winds push past her, it’s a little warmer now, as she glances down at their joined hands. Eli only shoots her a glance before she turns back to their friends and levels that same soft look toward them, matching Nozomi’s fond smile. 

“Yeah, I… yeah,” Eli’s voice is thick as she presses her hand tighter against Nozomi’s. “Me too." 


	6. alternate universe - fantasy/knights

Eli took her usual patrol through the town, squinting up at the sun beating down on her. Barely past midday, she noted, feeling her mind wander to the rest of her duties she still had to attend to.

So caught in her musings that she nearly missed it, missed the sudden flash of activity in the corner of her eyes.

Eli narrowed her eyes in suspicion, wondering if it was merely a trick of the sun, tracing her steps back to the alleyway to make sure. When surprised, green eyes stared back at her, she realized that no, it _wasn’t_.

“You!” Eli called out, walking briskly toward those same eyes, belonging to a woman. She looked taken aback at being addressed so suddenly before composing herself, now holding Eli’s gaze with an even stare. A mighty feat, considering Eli’s stare wielded nothing but authority in them. “Your face is one I do not recognize. I’ve not seen you around before.”

“Really? I’ve lived here my whole life though,” the woman replied easily, smiling at her. “But I know of you, of course! To what do I owe the pleasure of being in the company of the famous captain of the knights?”

“… flattery will get you no where,” Eli responded with a frown, slightly thrown by this woman’s attitude. “State your name and profession.”

The woman shook her head, as if laughing to herself. Eli was about to speak again before the woman looked up at her, the same green eyes that had caught Eli’s attention gazing at her. “I am Nozomi Toujou. I am but a simple waitress working in my uncle’s pub.” It took Eli a moment to respond, so enticed by the woman’s eyes. Despite her friendly and playful demeanor, her eyes were sharp and wary, Eli noticed.

“… and where is your uncle’s pub located?” Eli finally asked, realizing the woman, Nozomi as she had now learned, had finished speaking, waiting for an answer.

“Just merely down this road,” Nozomi turned around, gesturing behind her, “and make a right before taking a left. A sign with the nine goddesses will hang above you and there it is.” She turned back to Eli, tilting her head with a smile. “Will I be seeing you later tonight, Captain?" 

Eli blinked at her, completely caught off guard now. Never had she ever met a normal villager who… _wasn’t_ cowed by her knightly presence. 

"N-no,” she responded quickly, clicking her tongue to hide her stammer. Though the other woman said nothing, her expression turned knowing. Eli felt her face warm, embarrassed that she was caught.

“I apologize though, I must take my leave now to finish my errands. Good day to you, Captain,” Nozomi murmured, curtsying to her. She turned around then, sauntering back down the alleyway.

She paused suddenly though, turning around, staring straight into Eli’s eyes. “Come visit sometime,” she only said.

Finishing her words with a secretive smile, she rounded the corner and was soon gone from sight, leaving a flustered captain of the knights to gape at an empty alley.

Eli tore her eyes away, cursing the redness of her face. 


	7. glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: one of them wearing glasses and the other person getting distracted

“Hey, Nozomi, look at these!" 

She looked up, and began to laugh when Eli held up a pair of glasses with giant, circular lens. “Look!” Eli put them on, grinning. “How do they look?”

"I think these are too big for you,” Nozomi said, making big circles with her fingers and putting them on her own face for emphasis. It was Eli’s turn to laugh at her now. “How about something smaller?” she suggested.

“Like these?” Eli picked up another pair, metal frames that reminded Nozomi of the ones that the elderly wore all the time. She put them on, and turned to Nozomi.

Nozomi laughed again, answering Eli’s question. She looked at the other ones on display, picking up a pair of black plastic frames that at least looked more modern. “Try these? I think they’ll look nice on you.” 

Eli took them, putting them on and turned to Nozomi. “Well?” she asked, tilting her head at her, pinching the side of her glasses to hold them up, smiling lopsidedly. 

Nozomi suddenly felt her throat go dry, widening her eyes. “Um.” 

“No good?” Eli turned around, studying herself in the mirror.

“… that’s… not… it,” Nozomi managed to say, bringing a hand up to her face in realization. Eli turned back to her with brow raised questioningly, blue eyes peering at her through the lens of the glasses and blonde hair resting along the sides of the frames.

Nozomi inhaled sharply.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: something teasing/flirty

It starts off innocently enough.

A brush against her shoulder when Nozomi greets her at school. Eli glances down but other than that, she doesn’t think much of it.

A touch so light that Eli swears she’s probably imagined it. When they eat for lunch, Nozomi suddenly excuses herself. Eli only nods at her and resumes eating, chopsticks already picking up the piece of carrot and — Eli blinks rapidly when she feels something so faint against her neck, it might as well be the wind.

When they’re in the student council room by themselves, Eli is hunched over the desk, trying to work as fast as she can before going to practice, hand gripping the pencil—

She inhales sharply when she feels fingertips along her leg. When she snaps her head to the perpetrator, Nozomi’s expression is neutral, pencil tapping the desk as she reads over the paper in front of her. Eli knows better.

… she will not give Nozomi her satisfaction, and returns to her work, wishing _some_ people had self-control.

The faint touches on her legs don’t stop, ghosting along even under the hem of her skirt.

“I’m done, so I’ll be heading over to practice first,” Nozomi suddenly says some time later, with obvious amusement in her voice. Eli doesn’t answer her, breathing heavily instead.

Her face is flushed, with her mind hazy, and she is ready to deem self-control to be only a word at this point.

She widens her eyes suddenly, when she feels fingers faintly running down her ear, hitches her breath as they trail down to her jaw before they rise to tickle the back of her neck—

Eli reaches behind her and pulls Nozomi into her lap, no longer caring about decorum. What she hates though, is how Nozomi just smiles so _smugly_ at her, even as Eli pushes her against the table and sneaks her hands underneath her skirt.


	9. sports relay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Nozomi watching Eli run a sports relay for the first time and the sight takes her breath away

It felt like something Nozomi was sure she would remember forever, as she watched Eli fidgeting impatiently where she stood next in line for the relay, frowning when their class was overtaken. When the baton finally reached Eli though, _that_ was the moment Nozomi remembered.

Eli took off in a sprint, eyes concentrated as she began to run, long legs easily closing the distance between her and first place. It remained close though, and neither of them could fully overtake each other, both of them intent on finishing first for their classrooms.

The moment they rounded the final corner though, it was as if everything happened in slow motion for Nozomi.

Nozomi could notice the subtle change in Eli when she realized it was all or nothing at this point, watched as Eli’s gaze somehow became _more_ focused. If Nozomi were closer, she could probably  _feel_ the determination radiating off of Eli. She saw how Eli’s back suddenly went ramrod straight and with arms pumping, _dashed_ for the finish line. With her blonde hair flying all around her and gripping the baton tight, Eli’s eyes were focused completely ahead of her, seeing nothing but her goal, the finish line.

Nozomi’s expression was still awestruck as she let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding when Eli finally pulled ahead, reaching the finish line.

Eli stumbled for a bit until she finally braked. When the adrenaline crashed, she bent over, sweat dripping off of her as she panted, running a hand through her now mussed bangs. Their class ran over to her, cheering loudly and patting her on the back, partially blocking Nozomi’s vision. But Eli straightened herself up and Nozomi could see how she beamed at everyone, joining their class in raising their hands victoriously. With a triumphant expression on her face that was quite unlike her usual cool self, she turned her excited self to Nozomi, gleefully waving to her.

Nozomi snapped out of her staring and absently waved back, hoping everyone would mistake the redness of her cheeks as being in the sun for too long.


	10. alternate universe - death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: someone wanted something angsty lol

Humans are so fragile, Eli thinks, not for the first time in all the centuries of her life.

The proof lays where she sits in the clearing in bright moonlight, nothing but mangled bodies of pathetic humans all around, mauled beyond recognition in her fury.

She hates the wretched sight of them, hates that their blood also stains her claws, hates that they dared to take what was precious to her, hates that they _did_.

She snarls and bares her fangs, bites her lip so tightly that she draws her own blood, feels it drip down and mix together with the innocent blood spilled earlier on that red ground. She wants to lash out once more, but there is nothing left for her to break.

Not even herself, as she drags dull eyes down to the still body she cradles.

Her ears twitch, picking up the vibrations of critters skittering in the shadows, not the thrum of the heart she longs to hear.

Slowly, she sweeps her eyes over the face of that body, fixating on it. It’s almost ironic that though _she_ was the one struck down most cruelly out of all of them, _she_ is the one who looks the most peaceful, as if lulled away to sleep for a few short moments.

Eli doesn’t look at the gaping hole in the middle of the body.

The hand in her grasp has long gone cold, once warm and gentle against Eli’s face, stiff and listless now.

She raises her hand, smoothing back the violet hair that she loved to run her hands through and breathe in. She moves her hand to caress the lips that once spoke to her in a voice light and teasing, whispering of promises that will now forever remain unfulfilled. She brushes her fingers against the closed eyelids that hide the shade of green that were once vibrant and lively, always so full of love and life.

They never will be again.

Humans… are so fragile, Eli thinks, and for the first time in all the centuries of her life, wishes that they weren’t.


	11. playing with hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: eli playing with nozomi's hair

If there was something Nozomi was forever grateful for, it was the discovery that she enjoyed when someone was playing with her hair, and that Eli would always indulge her.

At first, Nozomi had been embarrassed at the contented moans and hums that came out, cheeks burning hot when Eli smiled teasingly at her. She couldn’t complain though, not when Eli only continued to run her fingers through her hair, and Nozomi lost herself in that amazing feeling.

Now, when Nozomi leaned against Eli’s shoulder, Eli would always raise her hand, acquiescing to Nozomi’s unspoken request every time. She’d feel Eli tugging her scrunchies off, loosening her hair down her back to her relief. Then, Eli would push her fingers through her hair, parting the strands gently as she ran her fingers down. Every now in then in a bout of playfulness, Eli would even muss up her hair before trying to fix it, patting the mess of hair before returning to her original task.

Ah, it really was the best, Nozomi had to think as she sank deeper into Eli’s embrace, closing her eyes to focus on the heavenly sensation of Eli’s slender fingers threading through her hair.


	12. Christmas fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: simple yet funny date scene for nozoeli

“Hey Nozomi, what do you want for Christmas?” Eli asked as they strolled through the shopping mall, attention now on her friend instead of the rows of stores.

“Me?” Nozomi blinked at her. “I thought we were shopping for Arisa?”

“We are, but uh, I just wanted to know what you’d like.” Eli laughed to herself. “Well, you probably won’t tell me and just leave me guessing like you always do.”

“Oh? In that case…” and Nozomi grinned in that way that Eli _knew_ she was going to regret her earlier words. “I’d like Elicchi to be wrapped up—”

“No.”

“—in a l—at least let me finish!”

“It wouldn’t be okay for public decency if I let you finish,” Eli muttered.

“How do you even know what I was going to say? Wow, Elicchi, you’re pretty dir—”

“I _don’t_ , and I’m sure I don’t want to know, and _no,_ I’m not,” Eli cut in with a frown, already knowing what Nozomi was about to insinuate.

"You’re so mean! C’mon, just let me finish! I promise it’s not that bad.” She looked so oddly insistent that Eli sighed, giving her the benefit of the doubt.

She waved her hand, gesturing for Nozomi to speak. “Fine, fine.”

“What was I saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted,” Nozomi began, snickering when Eli rolled her eyes, “was that I’d like Elicchi to be wrapped up in a long scarf that I’ll make for her, and then we can share it together when we walk through the Christmas lights for our date!”

Eli blinked rapidly at first before gawking at her, face burning hot. “Was that what you expected?” Nozomi asked with a teasing grin. “I told you to let me finish!”

Covering her face to hide how completely embarrassed she was, Eli groaned loudly, muttering to herself. “How did _that_ sound more embarrassing than what I thought it was?”


	13. flustered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: eli discovers how fun it can be to make nozomi flustered

When Nozomi “ _accidentally”_ brushes her hand against Eli for the fourth time in a row, Eli’s had enough. She clears her throat, about to reprimand Nozomi for her behavior before she pauses, thinking to herself. After several minutes, hoping that she won’t die of embarrassment at the end of the day, she turns back to her work, nodding firmly to herself.

When both of them finish with student council work, Eli stands up, gathering all the stacks of paper. She moves before Nozomi can stand up, bending down to let a puff of air against Nozomi’s cheek before she whispers that they should go to practice, trying not to laugh at Nozomi’s subtle shiver.

As they take their break from practice, out of the corner of her eye, she catches Nozomi watching her from where she’s sitting down. Eli takes a deep breath before she raises her arms above her head in a stretch, arching her back further than what might be appropriate. She tries to ignore how her shirt rides up, knows everyone else is concentrated on trying to catch their own breath. Eli tries not to smile when she realizes Nozomi refuses to look in her direction.

Later, they’re the only ones left in the clubroom as they change back into their school uniform. Eli smooths out her vest before she turns around. Nozomi is only barely buttoning up her shirt, distractedly it seems, as she tilts her head and looks deep in thought. Eli comes up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder—

“A-ah?!” Nozomi yelps, whirling around. Eli is about to ask what’s wrong before she realizes it, from how flushed Nozomi’s face is and how she looks everywhere except her.

Finally, Eli smiles knowingly, speaking in a mock scolding tone, “Nozomi, if you’re not feeling well, maybe you should take it easy?”

“… it’s all your fault!” Nozomi mutters angrily, keeping her eyes away.


	14. alternate universe - persona 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> persona 3 AU because it seemed like a fun idea at the time

Nozomi digs her nails into her hands as she continues to move back, shaking her head. In front of her, some…  _mass_ of something…  _black_ and _writhing_ are making its way toward her. Through the blackness, she can make out red eyes, large and beady. She doesn’t know what’s worse, the hands starting to form from the mass and reaching for her slowly, or the fact that she can see more in the background.

She doesn’t know why she didn’t do this first: she shrieks and runs, trying to get as far away as possible. Her eyes widen when she sees all the coffins standing up as she runs down the street. There is dark liquid on the ground, spilling from the broken buildings, and she doesn’t want to think what it could even be. Above, the moon is bloody and haunting, shining down on her, the only illumination she has. 

Nozomi trips. 

She crashes to the ground painfully, groaning. It takes her a moment to recover. She’s about to push herself up when she hears a sound that paralyzes her. Slowly, she turns her head, and the mass of blackness, once a distance away, is now in front of her, hands crawling up the pavement, about to reach her legs–

She screams, immediately scoots back as fast as she can. The shadow only continues to move toward her, inching faster then she can move. _No no nono, I don’t want to die,_ she thinks desperately, _no, not like this, not when I still have to–_

The sound of something flying through the air makes her stop, and her breath hitches when an arrow strikes the black creature in front of her. It makes a groaning sound and tries to reach for her again.

There’s another arrow this time, and another one, and a fourth one, and _finally,_ the creature stops moving, disappearing in an disgusting ooze of blackness.

“Hey!” Nozomi hears suddenly and whips her head up, eyes wide with panic.

It’s another girl bending down next to her, blonde hair and blue eyes, looking at her with concern. “Are you alright?” Nozomi shivers under that look though, wonders why the air suddenly feels so _cold_. She quickly murmurs out an answer.

“U-um, y-yeah, I guess,” she says, dropping her eyes down. That’s when she catches it, the gun the other girl is holding, the stark silver of it glinting in the darkness of everything. She gasps in surprise, unable to help herself.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” the girl says, giving her a reassuring smile before she stands up to face the mass of shadows creeping toward them. “Umi! Give me support!” she calls out suddenly, looking behind them, “Nico will be here soon!” Nozomi hears another shout and realizes there’s more than one person here.

Before Nozomi can look, the girl takes a deep breath and brings the gun to her head. Nozomi widens her eyes, scrambling forward and reaching her hand out, feels everything in her stop as she opens her mouth to scream **no** –

The click of a gun and the sound of glass shattering drowns her screams. There is  _something_ in front of her, large and imposing, surrounded by a blue light. It’s so intense that she can’t see past it even if she squints.

“Persona,” she catches, and she thinks she can hear chains rattling–

If she thought the air was cold before, it is _ice_ now, when she lets out a breath and a puff of white flies in front of her. It doesn’t compare to what she’s watching in front of her.

There is ice shooting along the ground before it stops and begins to travel upward, forming a sort of wall. With a loud crack, the ice stops moving and now there’s a blockade. The girl lowers her gun and Nozomi realizes she can’t see that strange figure anymore, gone now.

Nozomi wraps her arms around herself, shuddering, the cold becoming unbearable now. A warm hand on her arm makes her look up.

“Can you stand? We still have to get out of here.” The girl looks behind her, wholly unaffected by the coldness of everything. “It won’t be long before they get through so we need to go _now._ ” Her voice is authoritative as she helps Nozomi up and begins to run, tugging on her. Nozomi has no choice but to follow after this beautiful stranger, trying not to slip on the ice.

She doesn’t know how long they run, passing even more coffins, and Nozomi swears there are always red eyes lurking wherever she swings her gaze. After a while, they finally stop and Nozomi realizes she can’t hear the groaning and gurgling sounds of whatever black things those were anymore.

And she gasps then, when she feels the air changing _again_ , going from dark and oppressive to–

The lamps of the street flicker back on, their dull humming something Nozomi hadn’t even realized she missed. Her phone begins to vibrate inside her pocket. Above, the moon shines down, white as it should always be. There are no more coffins and the strange smell of iron in the air, only the regular bustle of people around and the buildings are unbroken and bright with lights.  

“Senpai, are you okay?”

Nozomi whirls around to find someone else standing a little ways off, holding a bow with a quiver of arrows. They come closer and now Nozomi can see it’s another girl, with wary eyes trained on them. She must be the one from earlier, Nozomi thinks.

“Yeah, I’m good. Used more power than I thought I would, but I’m fine.” She shrugs her shoulders before turning to look at Nozomi. “You’re… unhurt?”

“U-uh, yeah, I… I am,” Nozomi mumbles, glancing between the both of them. “T-thank you… for, um, everything.”

“You’re welcome.” The blonde girl looks at her thoughtfully. “Ah, sorry, excuse me for a moment.” She suddenly waves the girl with the bow over and they turn around to whisper to each other. She turns back around after a while and smiles reassuringly at her. Nozomi feels her cheeks heating up at that, unable to stop herself.

“You… remember everything?” she suddenly says carefully. Her eyes are suddenly guarded and she feels as stiff as the ice from before. Nozomi blinks at her before nodding slowly.

“The… um… coffins?” Nozomi says, unsure of what else to say. For some reason, the girl in front of her looks both troubled and relieved.

“Please, don’t tell anyone about what you saw,” she says, sighing. “I promise I’ll explain it in a few days but for now, keep it a secret, okay?” She holds out her hand. “I’m Eli Ayase.”

“ _Senpai_ ,” the other girl says in warning, narrowing her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Umi. I think she has… the potential, so we can’t really ignore her. That’s probably why they attacked her.” She turns back to Nozomi with an apologetic look before smiling again. Nozomi doesn’t really know what’s going on, but there’s only one thing she’s aware of right now, as she slowly turns her eyes down to the offered hand.

 _Eli Ayase._ Nozomi can’t help the smile as she takes that hand, tries not to laugh when the other girl blinks at the sudden change in her demeanor. _Ayase._

“Nozomi Toujou,” she returns, “pleased to meet someone as beautiful as you.” She grins at the blush spreading across the face of her new acquaintance.

 _Pleased to meet the family that killed my parents,_ is what she doesn’t say.


	15. Three Sentence Prompts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompts where someone suggests an AU ~~that was the idea anyway~~ and I write three sentences of it

**1\. fake relationship AU**

 “… isn’t she your secretary?” Arisa says as she leans across the table with a suspicious look, eying Nozomi through narrowed eyes.

“Arisa, we’re _totally_ in love,” Eli says with a laugh that sounds too forced as she quickly rushes out her next words, “and also please stop setting me up with other people just because you think I spend too much time working.” 

Arisa continues to remain unconvinced though, and Nozomi can see that her boss is flustered and just about ready to spill everything, so she does the only thing that can both convince Arisa and silence Eli: she throws her arms around Eli and, hoping she won’t get fired afterward, presses their lips together.

* * *

**2\. Pokemon AU**

 There’s a blizzard outside right now but Eli doesn’t really care about any of that, not when she has a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, a warm fire in front of her, slumbering Mamoswine behind her, and Nozomi dozing next to her.

There’s a strange sensation next to her ear though, like someone licking it, and she frowns, opening her mouth to tell Nozomi to knock off her jokes before she realizes it’s coming from the  _other_ side. 

Eli turns her head, and Nozomi’s Gengar pauses for only a second before licking her entire face and in her brief paralysis, she drops the hot chocolate and Nozomi is too busy laughing on the floor to help her.

* * *

**3\. married life fluff**

“This is the worst decision we’ve ever made,” Eli says with a groan, staring up at the ceiling from where she’s laying on the floor.

“Don’t you mean the best?” Nozomi says with a lopsided smile, snuggling deeper into both Eli and the blanket as she pushes their fingers together.

“… I don’t think a _kotatsu_ should have been the first thing we needed to buy for our new house,” Eli mutters though she raises Nozomi’s hand to her cheek afterward, smiling indulgently when, along with Nozomi’s warm hand, she feels cool metal hit her face.

* * *

**4\. unrequited love (maki - > nozoeli)**

The moment Maki realizes what she feels, she also knows that it’s completely hopeless. Everything Nozomi does, to the way she smiles at Eli, how she subtly leans in her direction, and when her teasing look slowly turns into a soft and warm expression, Maki knows that all of this is only for the two for them. Even so, when Nozomi smiles slyly at Maki and teases her as she always does, Maki hates that her heart still skips a beat.

* * *

**5\. Nozomi gets lost in Russia and Eli helps find her way**

Taking a trip to Russia by herself is starting to look less and less smart, Nozomi thinks as she looks all around her, and even though she has a map in her hand, it isn’t exactly helping when she can’t even figure out what looks familiar or not. Someone bumps into her then and Nozomi rushes out an automatic apology, before remembering people here don’t speak Japanese and tries to stutter an apology in English.

And Nozomi can’t help the incredulous look on her face when the stranger she’s bumped into begins to speak back to her in fluent Japanese, feels her cheeks burn up as she catches the faint amusement shining in the blue eyes looking at her.

* * *

**6\. Eli visits a porn site**

It’s up for only a second, but a second is apparently all it takes, even as Eli slams the laptop down as quickly as she can. She holds her breath, thinks she’s in the clear when she hears nothing behind her, and is just about to run to the window to toss the laptop out—

“So,” Nozomi drawls as she leans dangerously close, ignoring the warning signs of Eli’s hands twitching in rapid succession, “‘busty brunette decides to tr—’" and Nozomi yelps as she ducks to avoid being slapped in the face by a laptop.

* * *

**7\. secret agent AU where Eli's GPS malfunctions and she ends up in Nozomi's bathroom**

Eli Ayase is, without a doubt, one of the best agents in recent times, unparalleled in her ability to flawlessly carry through with any mission and complete them in record time regardless of any difficulties that arise.

She now finds herself in one of the most daunting situations she’s ever been in, as she turns her head down to check her gear that tells her  _yes,_ she’s in the right place… except… she slowly looks back up, right at the naked woman standing in the shower, the both of them engaging in the most intense staring contest either have ever been in.

Eli wins, except her reward is an earsplitting scream before being bombarded by a barrage of bottles, and right as she loses consciousness, all she can think is just, _wow._

* * *

**8\. Rapunzel AU _  
_**

After days of observation, Nozomi is going to discover who and what is inside the really long tower in the middle of the forest, as she stands ready down below.

“Elichika, Elichika, let down your hair!” she cries out, and is amazed when there _is_ someone who peeks her head out, though there is no hair ladder for her to climb up as she’s seen the other times.

Left with no other choice, Nozomi plays the trump card she’s only caught a few times, and cries out triumphantly, “I have chocolate for you!” and screams when a sudden pool of hair smacks her dead in the face, spending the next few minutes afterward sullenly spitting out golden hair.

* * *

**9\. sims AU**

It was a gag gift and like every other person, she opens it up and makes sims based off of her friends, playing the game with increasingly dubious amounts of enjoyment.

There’s one time though, where she accidentally leaves her game running and she’s gone for maybe an hour, hour and a half at most, and when she comes back, she realizes two of her sims have gotten married to each other.

“I can’t even catch a break in a _game_ ,” Nico mutters as she slams her head on her desk, resolving to never name anything after Nozomi and Eli ever again.


	16. alternate universe - touhou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mountain of faith because nozoeli as suwakana moms seemed to fit

Kotori looked up from where she was outside in their yard, pausing her sweeping. “You want to increase our faith some more?” she asked, blinking at her goddess.

“Yes, it would be nice if we could expand, wouldn’t it?” Eli crossed her arms, 

“… can we?” Kotori furrowed her brow. “I mean, we have the tengu and the kappa with us now don’t we, Eli-sama?" 

"We do, and they’re not bad, I guess,” Eli grudgingly admitted. “But there’s that one tengu that keeps trying to give us her newspaper,” she muttered, “and it’s all full of gossip and–"  

"Delivery!” 

“–and there she is.” Eli sighed, looking up. Kotori followed her gaze. Up in the sky, there indeed was a crow tengu that was becoming a regular sight around here, flapping her black wings, waving wildly to them.

“Good morning, Honoka-chan!” Kotori called out, waving with a smile. In the next instant, Honoka was already next to them, newspaper in her hands. 

“Here’s your paper!” Honoka said cheerfully. Kotori took it, smiling. 

“Thank you! Ah, wait!” Kotori shouted, looking up at the sky where their newspaper deliverer had already sped off. Honoka managed to spin back around though, staying in the air as she waited. “Would you like a few snacks before you go?” Kotori shouted, gesturing behind her to the shrine that also served as her house. “The harvest goddesses gave us a lot of sweet potatoes and I was about to steam some.” 

Honoka was immediately back down at her side, eyes completely lit up and mouth already watering. “Snacks?! I can’t turn down snacks–” 

“ _Honoka!_ ” a new voice boomed out, deep and angry. Honoka froze at the sound, wings lowering in fear as she turned around. Landing down next to them was the wolf tengu that Kotori had seen a few times, the one that dutifully patrolled Youkai Mountain, large sword in her hands that she now pointed at Honoka.

“Uh… u-uh… Umi…” Honoka shrank back, trying to hide behind Kotori. Umi was in front of them, growling threateningly, her furry ears twitching on top of her head.

“Don’t shirk your duties! You were supposed to report to the Tenma _hours_ ago, and then what do I find you doing? Here, about to eat snacks even!" 

"I _just_ got here! And they offered! Who am I to turn down free snacks from the gods?!” 

“Have you no shame?!” Umi roared, raising her sword. “Honoka! Today is the last day you’ll–” 

“What’s with all the noise so early in the morning?” 

Everyone froze at the sound of a door sliding open, slamming loudly onto wood. Kotori was already spinning around on her feet, bowing, greeting already out of her lips. 

“Nozomi-sama!” she chirped. Umi lowered her weapon and bowed as well, pulling Honoka down with her, muttering about respect. “Good morning!” 

“Elichi, you should have told me we were having guests over,” Nozomi called out with a teasing grin, tugging on her hat to shield her face from the morning sun. “I would have woken up earlier!” 

“And then have eaten all the snacks and gone back to sleep you mean,” Eli said dryly.

“I’m not one to turn down offerings to a god,” Nozomi said, yawning behind her hand.

“They’re not offerings if they’re from another god!" 

Kotori turned back to the two tengu, smiling apologetically as Eli and Nozomi began their usual morning banter. "I’m sorry you have to see this. Will you be staying for snacks though?” 

“No, _we_ must decline,” Umi answered before Honoka could, shooting the crow tengu next to her a snide look, “and I haven’t finished my patrol around the mountain yet anyway."  

"Ah, so diligent!” Kotori said, clapping her hands together. “I’ll pray for your success.” 

Umi’s ears fluttered rapidly on top of her head and Kotori had to resist the urge to reach out and fondle them like a dog. She had a feeling the wolf tengu wouldn’t appreciate it either way. Umi coughed into her hand, trying to hide her face. “I thank you for your support, shrine maiden. But if you will excuse us…” Umi reached out behind her, grabbing Honoka by the arm before she could sneak off, “we’ll have to make our leave now.” She pulled roughly on Honoka’s sleeve, scowling. “Come!” 

“Umi-chan! Just a few snacks, I swear that’s all I want!” Honoka whined. 

“A few will turn into most, and then all! If I’m not there to watch you, you’ll just laze the whole day!” 

“As if you weren’t playing _shogi_ with the kappa the other day!” 

“That was _after_ I finished my duties!”

“Oh, so _you_ get to spend the whole day playing around with Maki-chan. That’s not fair! Ow! Don’t pull so hard! Ayayayaya…” 

Kotori could only laugh sheepishly as their argument continued to drift over to her even as they flew off. She waited until she could hear them no more before turning around–and Nozomi’s face was suddenly the only thing in her sight. 

“Did our guests leave?” Nozomi asked. If Kotori weren’t already used to the strange mannerisms of her goddess, she would have screamed. As it was, she only shook her head. 

“No, they’re still busy.”

“A shame, maybe tomorrow will be special then.” Nozomi leaned back and put her hand on her cheek. “How about… we invite that other shrine maiden over again? The one that came over the other day?” Nozomi grinned. 

“Nico?” Kotori blinked. “The one that came all the way up the mountain and then got mad at Eli-sama for causing a disturbance because it ruined her tea time?” 

“And then she built me the tiniest shrine I’ve ever seen,” Eli muttered, crossing her arms as she huffed. 

“But she convinced everyone on the mountain that we weren’t bad, so she’s not against us,” Kotori had to say. She tensed up when Eli’s eyes roamed over to her, a dangerous look in the eyes of her goddess. 

“… why do you want her back?” Kotori could almost hear the slight whine in Eli’s voice. She tried not to laugh at how obvious Eli was being, especially when she glanced at Nozomi before darting her eyes away.  

“She was fun, wasn’t she?” Nozomi smiled lazily, turning her gaze over to the other goddess. When Eli only looked away from her with a frown, Nozomi’s smile became sly. “Are you jealous I had fun with her?” 

“W-what?!” Eli scowled, turning to Nozomi fully. “No! Don’t be ridiculous. If we’re trying to get faith for _our_ shrine, why do we need a shrine maiden from _another_ shrine? And one that barely gets any visitors too,” she muttered under her breath. 

“Because why… _not_?” Nozomi answered playfully.

“Nozomi!” Eli sighed frustratedly. “Jeez, this isn’t only _your_ shrine too.” 

“Oh? How about I take true ownership of the shrine right now then?” Nozomi licked her lips before twisting them into a toothless smile.

“True ownership? Didn’t we already decide that so long ago? Your iron rings are no match for my divine power,” Eli retorted, rising to her full height, looking down at native god. “If you wish to relieve the time of your defeat, I’ll be happy to help.”

“Ah, but that was then! This is now, and I’m sure we’ve changed.” 

“And the results will still be the same!" 

"My, have you grown complacent after so many centuries?” Kotori felt shivers crawling up her spine when Nozomi only smiled again, the corners of her mouth completely upturned with her eyes half-lidded. Behind her, the white snakes of Mishaguji began to rise, hissing as they glared at the wind goddess that had defeated their master so long ago. Kotori’s eyes were wide open, unable to keep the primal scene of Nozomi Toujou, the native god of the land, gathering her overwhelming power from the earth. Eli only narrowed her eyes as she raised a hand, wind whipping around her.

“I’m not one to turn down a challenge,” she said, smirking, even as Nozomi took a step closer. “I wasn’t afraid of you then, and I’m not now!” 

“Fine by me,” Nozomi replied in a low voice, walking closer to the other goddess one step at a time. Kotori felt like each step she took was like a timer, the moments winding down to when there would be utter chaos as two goddesses reenacted the Great Suwa War again. She _had_ to stop them but fear left her completely paralyzed, with her mouth too dry to even shout protests. Eli held her ground, staring evenly at the curse gods that loomed above her, glowing red eyes trained on her every. Even as Nozomi and Eli were face to face, she still kept her defiant stance, staring down into shiny green eyes. 

And Nozomi stuck her tongue out before giving a quick lick to Eli’s nose.

Eli sputtered, jumping backward as she covered her face, burning hot now. “N-Nozomi! That was… what was–” she stopped speaking, still staring at Nozomi. Mishaguji disappeared with a loud hiss that Kotori couldn’t help but think sounded like disappointment. 

“I might not be able to win in a direct fight, but those aren’t the only things I can do to win,” Nozomi said in a singsong voice. “The frog needs to find a different approach to win against the snake, no?” 

“That’s… that’s cheating!” Eli cried out, still covering her face, unable to look at either of them. Nozomi opened her mouth but snapped it closed, whipping her head upward. In the next second, she leaped backward _, narrowly_ avoiding the large pillar that suddenly plummeted from the sky, a size so large that it would have easily flattened about ten of her if they stood together. Kotori couldn’t help but gape at the sudden protrusion crashing into their yard, mind whirling as she thought about all the sudden cleaning she had to do now. 

“Elichi, you almost smashed Pyonta!” Nozomi pouted, tugging on her hat as she made her way to Kotori. Eli looked as if she was about to summon another pillar but Kotori, not wanting to see anymore destruction of their home (and also not wanting to be squished herself), clapped her hands, stopping both of them.

“Please don’t start another war here,” Kotori could only say weakly, looking back at forth between her goddesses with a pleading expression. “We just barely earned the trust of everyone on the mountain, we don’t really want to lose it so quickly.” 

“That’s right, Elichi, listen to your shrine maiden!” Nozomi scolded, hands on her hip. 

Eli put a hand to her face, sighing into it. “You know she’s also _yours_ too? Ugh, enough, I can’t argue against you when you’re like this.” She looked over at Kotori, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry Kotori, I’ll help you clean it up later. What were we talking about before anyway?" 

"How to get more faith?” Kotori added helpfully, very glad for the topic change. “What we need for more faith though…” she trailed off. Both Nozomi and Kotori put their hands on their chins as they thought, looking all around. In the next moment, they locked gazes, and immediately settled on the most obvious solution.

“… yes?” Eli asked, blinking innocently, not liking the leery expression on both of their faces as they suddenly looked her up and down. She wondered why they kept looking at her legs, glancing down at them with a raised brow.

“Say, we haven’t had any festivals in a while, have we?” Nozomi asked slowly, smiling secretively as she and Kotori shared a look. 

“We haven’t,” Kotori answered with a giggle. “Should we have one?” 

“That sounds like a good idea,” Nozomi said slowly, eyes still on Eli. “How about we invite _everyone?_ You’ll be wanting to make a new dress too, right?” Nozomi asked. Kotori stood straight up with a completely serious expression as she saluted to her goddess. 

“Right away, Nozomi-sama!” Kotori shouted as she ran into the house. “I’ll make a most beautiful and fitting dress for Eli-sama to wear!” Eli turned to watch their shrine maiden dash into the house, completely bewildered as to what was even happening.

“Kotori’s such a good girl, isn’t she?” Nozomi said with a faint grin. In this moment, she couldn’t help but think that Kotori truly was her descendant.


	17. alternate universe - lily white as sisters AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is more lily white than nozoeli but I might as well put it in here

“Alright, so we need to heat up the stove–” 

“Rin’s got it, nya!” 

“Rin, no! You’re not going near the stove!” 

Nozomi looked up from her phone, eying her siblings with a raised brow. “Is there even water in the pot?” 

Both Umi and Rin froze, glancing down at the pot in their hands. 

“… no,” they both said guiltily. Nozomi tried not to laugh as she walked over. “I’ll turn on the stove then, how’s that?” She waited for them to fill the pot with water and put it on the stove before flipping the switch. “There! And Umi will watch the stove while Rin helps me measure the ingredients.”

“… fine,” Umi muttered, huffing when Rin stuck her tongue at her. Nozomi patted Rin, leading her away before they could get into another argument. 

“… Umi doesn’t trust Rin with the stove,” Rin mumbled, pouting as she helped Nozomi pour the cocoa into the measuring cup. 

“It’s not that she doesn’t trust you,” Nozomi began, glancing between her sisters, “she just doesn’t want you to get hurt like last time. You made us both worried, you know." 

"It was an accident!” Rin exclaimed before she lowered her voice, looking away guiltily. “I… Rin knows better now.” 

“Yes, yes,” Nozomi said, grabbing the box of powdered sugar and pouring into the sifter Rin held, “but just for today, how about we let Umi handle it?” She bent down with a secretive smile, whispering, “I’ll give you some extra chocolate if you behave today.” The thought of getting extra sweets made Rin whip her head back up, smile back on her face. 

“Okay!” 

“Stop spoiling Rin so much!” Umi said, looking at them disapprovingly. “You already gave her some pudding the other day too!” 

“I’ll give you some extras too!” Nozomi only answered back, laughing again when Umi sighed loudly but said nothing else. 

The three of them continued on with their chocolate making without too much incident. After measuring everything out, Nozomi handed the bowls with the ingredients to Umi. 

“Doesn’t this look like too much sugar?” Umi had to ask, blinking at the larger than normal mountain of sugar. 

“It’s okay, my coworker has a sweet tooth,” Nozomi reassured with a faint laugh. Shrugging and trusting her older sister knew what she was doing, Umi mixed together all the ingredients into the double boiler. Finishing up, she handed the bowl back to Nozomi, who poured the contents into a mold filled with heart shapes. Carefully wiping up the excess, she handed it to Rin, who grinned widely as she gingerly put the chocolate into the fridge.

“We have a lot more leftovers than I thought, I should have bought another mold before I came home,” Nozomi said, frowning as she stared at the excess chocolate. 

“No, Rin, you can’t eat it all,” Umi said just as Rin opened her mouth. Rin huffed, annoyed at being caught so easily. 

“So, Umi!” Nozomi spoke up, turning to her with a smile. “Do you have anyone you want to give chocolates to?” 

Umi scrunched up her face, staring at her older sister in confusion. “H-Hah? Honoka and Kotori?” she answered slowly. 

“I mean…” Nozomi put a finger to her cheek, tapping it thoughtfully. “Any… _particular_ person in mind?” 

Umi widened her eyes when she realized what Nozomi was implying, shaking her head furiously. “N-no! We’re… too young for… f-for… things like romance!” Her whole face turned red as she said the word romance, as if it were a forbidden word. Nozomi wanted to point out that high school wasn’t _that_ young, but maybe for her easily embarrassed sister, it was. 

“Rin’s gonna give them to Kayochin, nya!” Rin chimed in helpfully, tugging on Nozomi’s shirt. 

“See, even Rin’s going to give them to someone!” Nozomi couldn’t help but tease Umi even more.

“But Rin always gives them to Hanayo,” Umi muttered, though her face was still red when Nozomi continued to stare at her. “I’m… I…” She darted her eyes around in helplessness, trying to find something else to look at. “I…” Her eyes narrowed in the next second. “Rin! Don’t put your fingers in the bowl!” Rin retracted her fingers, licking the tips quickly before Umi could make her wash her hands.  

Nozomi smiled down at them, laughing. “I’m just kidding, we’ll leave some for you to make for Honoka and Kotori. Should we make some more though? So you can hand it out to other people?” 

“Why… would I need to do that?” Umi asked, blinking up at her. “I only need to give them to Honoka and Kotori, right?” 

Nozomi couldn’t help but crinkle her eyes in amusement as she looked at her sister, the ace of the archery team in her second year of high school, always cool and composed, graceful in everything she did, with her body lean and lithe from all the training she endured throughout the years, staring obliviously at her. 

“Just a feeling,” she only said. 

–

“Ah, sorry, let me…” Nozomi apologized as she reached into her bag, fetching out her keys and unlocking the door. “I’m home and I br–” She blinked suddenly, realizing her sisters were suddenly in front of her, staring anxiously at her. “Ah?" 

"How did it go, nya?!” Rin shouted from behind Umi.

“Rin! Don’t be so loud in the apartment!” Umi scowled, pushing her younger sister in front of her and putting her hands on her shoulders. She sighed, lightly hitting Rin on the shoulder. “Greet her properly first at least." 

"Welcome back,” the voices of her younger sisters chorused in unison, and Nozomi smiled fondly at them. Rin began to jump excitedly again afterward though it was Umi who spoke. “How did… today go?” she asked carefully, unable to figure out what sort of mood her older sister was in. Rin nodded next to her, staring up at Nozomi as she bounced from one foot to the other.

“I’m sorry…” Nozomi started, and even she couldn’t help the pang in her chest when she watched the enthusiastic expressions of her sisters change into completely crestfallen. She waited for another moment before opening the door a little wider, revealing Eli awkwardly shuffling her feet outside, holding the same box of chocolates they helped Nozomi make. 

“… but you don’t mind if we have an extra for dinner, right?”


	18. alternate universe - pokemon AU (RSE/ORAS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: nozoeli as team aqua and team magma leaders archie and max

“No… it can’t be… I couldn’t have made a mistake…” Eli swallowed, aware of how parched her throat was under the oppressive heat.

“Elichi, look at what happened! Because you summoned Groudon, all this water is going to dry up!” Nozomi grabbed Eli by the shoulders, shaking her. Eli didn’t answer her, still in shock. 

Nozomi waved a hand before leering and waggling her eyebrows. “I guess it’s okay, all the water in the world could dry up and I’d still be thirsty for yo—”

Eli pushed Nozomi into the water.

When Nozomi resurfaced, there was a look of pure horror on her face. “Elichi, the _ocean_ is _warm_. See, if we had summoned Kyogre like I wanted—” 

“ _Seriously,_ Nozomi, s-shut up and get to Sootopolis!” Eli screamed as her face flushed with heat that wasn’t entirely due to the drought.


	19. whisper

Nozomi tapped her pencil against the desk, subtly eying the girl next to her. As expected, Eli’s gaze was focused on her work in front of her, not even sparing a glance to Nozomi as she read over the textbook.

… this wasn’t very fun at all. Nozomi slowly turned to Eli, trying not to make any sound. She carefully lifted her chair and moved back, just slightly behind Eli so her friend couldn’t see her. When she was sure Eli’s attention was still on the books, she crept forward. Trying not to grin, she cupped her hand to her mouth. 

“Boo!” 

Eli yelped, nearly falling off her chair as she clapped her hand over her ear. She whipped her head to Nozomi, who was snickering behind her hand, eyes crinkled with obvious amusement. 

“N-N-Nozomi! W-w-what was that f-for!?” Eli cried out, her whole face red with embarrassment. 

“You looked so into your studying that I couldn’t help it,” Nozomi answered innocently. “I felt a little lonely.” 

“… _you_ were the one that called me over to help you study. Really, Nozomi.” Eli shook her head exasperatedly, trying to compose herself. 

“Yes, yes, I’ll get back to studying now,” Nozomi said with a small laugh, pushing her chair back to its original position. Though she was sure Eli wouldn’t do it, she didn’t want to tease Eli too much and have her leave in embarrassment before Nozomi _really_ needed her help. Exhaling softly, she decided to go back to focusing on the task at hand, however boring it sounded. For several minutes, there was nothing but the sound of pages being turned and pencils scratching against the table.

Nozomi froze and widened her eyes then, when she felt a presence right next to her. Not even daring to turn her head, she moved her eyes to the side, catching Eli staring intently at her, her face right next to hers. Though Eli’s face was red, Nozomi was sure her own was no better. 

Despite the embarrassment she must have felt, Eli leaned forward, voice low and impressively steady as she murmured, right next to Nozomi’s ear, “How about we take a break?” 


	20. alternate universe - genderbent Nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: genderbent Nico is Nozomi's overprotective brother

He was short, the first thing Eli noticed. 

“What are you staring at?” he asked in a gruff voice, scowling at her from where he stood at the doorway.

“N-nothing!” Eli immediately said, blinking owlishly. “Uh, is, i-is Nozomi there?” 

“Nozomi?” He blinked, turning his head away as if in thought before snapping it back to her, red eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’re… you’re not her friend, are you?” 

“… hah?” Eli furrowed her brow in confusion. “I… uh… I think I am?” 

“… what sort of answer is that?” 

“I mean, I am!” Eli almost shouted. She didn’t know why she felt so jittery though it might have been his heavy glare. Eli was used to getting unwanted attention and looks but there was something about the way he looked at her that made her want to act on like she was on her best behavior. “N-Nozomi, she, um, she said she… mentioned me and, er, coming over?” 

“… I think she did,” he muttered, peering at her curiously, “I mean, she also talks about you _a lot_ too, so.”  

“Ah… o-oh.” Eli didn’t know what else to say and didn’t know why she felt so embarrassed (and secretly delighted) at the thought of Nozomi talking about her. “Er, she… talks a lot about… you too?” she added in an unsure voice.

“… whatever,” he said with a shrug though Eli still felt like he was annoyed with something, “as long as she’s making friends, I guess.” And still continued to stand in the doorway, blocking her from entering. Eli awkwardly shuffled her feet, wondering if she picked a bad time to come, especially when he only continued to frown, watching her suspiciously. 

It was getting harder and harder to believe that this was Nozomi’s older brother, who she always spoke of with a fond smile. 

A sound at the end of the hallway made the both of them jump. There was Nozomi standing at the end, trying to hide her laughter behind her hand as she came up to them. 

“N-Nozomi!” they both cried out at the same time before blinking at each other. Nozomi giggled at them. 

“Didn’t I mention my friend was going to be coming over?” she asked, pouting at her brother. 

“… maybe,” he said vaguely, crossing his arms with a huff. “You guys going out then?” 

“Yeah, we’ll be back before dinner, I’ll let you know,” Nozomi answered putting on her shoes. Her brother nodded, about to walk off before he turned back to them, waiting expectantly. 

And Eli could only stare, as both siblings put their hands next to their heads, pushing down their middle and ring fingers, mirroring each other as they chanted, “Nico-nico-ni!” Their wide grins afterward too were almost perfectly identical.  

Eli was still bewildered even minutes later as she walked down the street, Nozomi’s arm around hers. “It’s a habit, we always do it whenever one of us leaves,”  Nozomi only explained with a smile, tugging on Eli’s arm to help lead her around before she ran into a pole in her stunned state.


	21. alternate universe - zombie apocalypse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: zombie apocalypse with angst

The only person who’s been by her side the whole time has always been Nozomi. The only _reason_ she’s been able to even stay alive for so long is because of Nozomi. 

She tells herself to survive for Nozomi. It’s the only words she can hear in her mind sometimes, in the eerie silence of the nights as they sleep in broken buildings and Nozomi is wordlessly hiccuping into her shoulder. Nozomi’s body is still warm even as it shakes with uncertainty and terror, clutching at her desperately. She returns her hold with equal fervor as she tells herself that they are still alive and have each other.

Nozomi’s always been the one who made her strong but now she needs to be Nozomi’s pillar, needs to be the one to keep steady for the both of them because Nozomi was too scared to pull the trigger on their friends and family. For Nozomi, she repeats, because it’s the only thing she can believe in anymore. If it’s for her, she can do anything, she tells herself. It’s how they’ve managed to survive for so long, living for only each other when everyone else is already gone.  

One misstep is all it takes though, when they’re going down an abandoned street and Nozomi accidentally kicks against the metal of a trash can. The loud clang rings through the stagnant air and before either of them can run away, a rotting body is already leaping at them.

There is no hesitation when Eli throws herself in front of Nozomi. 

The teeth sink into her arm. She screams in agony, clawing against the zombie, tries not to think about her nails scratching off the skin of a dead human as she pries it off. She pushes the bile in the back of her throat down when the teeth only sink down harder. She feels it _tear_ —

“Elichi!” Then something loud—

The zombie is on the ground unmoving and Eli is gasping for breath, eyes wide. There is blood all over her and she doesn’t care, laughing wildly when she realizes she’s no longer in the grasp of the zombie.

Eli makes the mistake of turning her head, looking down at her arm—

“Elichi, we have t-to… t-to, to get somewhere s-safe,” Nozomi says as she hooks a shaky arm around her waist. Even though she knows Nozomi is next to her, the words are a faint whisper against her ear. Eli only nods numbly, tries not to think about the thick liquid seeping down her fingers even as pain is shooting through her mind. Before she knows it, they’re inside a building and she’s slumping down against a wall, hissing through her teeth at the pain.

“You’re… y-y-you’re… you’re going to be okay,” Nozomi says, unable to keep her voice from wavering. Her fingers are delicately touching around the torn flesh as she mutters, “you’re, you’re going to be fine, you’re not going to—”

“Nozomi.” It’s only a whisper, something she’s done countless times before, but that’s all they need, as Nozomi slowly looks up at her.

The sharp throbbing of her arm doesn’t hurt as much as seeing the look of complete anguish on Nozomi’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Eli says with a quiet breath. “I’m… I’m sorry.” The words begin to tumble out of her before she even realizes. “We were going to live together, get married, maybe back at home in Russia with my grandmother watching over us, and Arisa would cry so much as she’d call you her sister… and we could have had children and I’d teach them ballet and… and then we were supposed to grow old together with all our friends and live out in the mountains because that’s the best for your spiritual power and everyone would complain about us being too far to visit us… and… and… this wasn’t…”

She trails off with broken laughter, trying to fight through the haze of pain as she closes her eyes. She can’t help the thought that at least she won’t be the one to see Nozomi turn into one of them, won’t be the one who has to take aim and—

Nozomi pushes back her bangs, interrupting her thoughts. Eli murmurs a quiet sigh of thanks, breathing slowly as her life trickles down her arm and drips out. Nozomi takes that same hand, entwining their fingers together in a tight grip.

“You’ll, you’ll have to… get away from me soon,” Eli murmurs, breathing even harder now. “I don’t… I don’t know how long it’ll—”

“Shh,” Nozomi only says, reaching out to stroke her face. “We were always together and it’ll stay like that even now.”

Eli doesn’t know who’s being more selfish now, when she feels nothing but relief at Nozomi’s words.


	22. alternate universe - vampires pt.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: vampire eli + vampire hunter nozomi + make it angsty

Nozomi realizes from the moment she takes the step inside the abandoned parking lot, that _everything_ feels wrong. There’s barely any lights inside, all flickering and dim, offering no aid to the bleak darkness. The air is stale and musty, a smell Nozomi is thankfully used to at this point, but it unsettles her here. She can hear her steps echoing in the dead silence along with her heartbeat. 

She _almost_ doesn’t catch the second set of footsteps. Even if she didn’t hear it though, with all her years of experience, she can tell that there’s something here, as if waiting for her. She doesn’t want to go further in case it’s a trap but recklessness surges through her blood right now for whatever reason, makes her continue putting one foot in front of the other.  

Each step she takes makes her restless. Her breath comes out in slow, white puffs. She raises her hand to breathe life into it, runs her fingers on her still clammy palm before lowering it back down, pushing it against her leg to stop the shakiness. She feels as if she’s watching herself move, not fully in control of her own body. 

She pauses then, realizing there’s a lone figure standing at the edge of the building, looking outward. At their feet is a body, a shriveled husk of a person. Too late, and she whispers a silent prayer for them. She reaches into her coat afterward, taking in the familiar weight of her stake, silently stalks closer–

“Nozomi.” 

–and feels everything in her chill at the soft but painfully _familiar_ voice.

The vampire turns to her, light blonde hair gently swaying around the soft face that still haunts Nozomi in her memories. Even now, Nozomi is frozen under that look that still captivates her, still makes her breath hitch. 

Nozomi pushes her lips together to prevent words ( _apologies)_ from slipping out. She said everything back then; she has no more excuses to give now.

“… Nozomi,” she hears again in a soft murmur, a faint whisper that makes Nozomi ache at how _longing_ it sounds. 

The vampire smiles, and for a moment, Nozomi is taken back to their days before everything happened. Back then, when those same eyes used to gaze upon her with warmth and affection, mirroring Nozomi’s own expression. Her eyes, blue like the sky above them and endless with kindness, were always honest even if her words were clumsy.

Seeing that same expression here, it is nothing but a mockery, a painful reminder of Nozomi’s failures, especially when she catches the hint of fangs poking out from that expression. 

The last memory she has of that smile is when her vision is blurred from all the tears falling from her face, with her voice raspy as she pleads and begs over and over again for those eyes to open, before the body in her arms went limp. 

“Why don’t you call me like you used to,” the vampire croons suddenly. Her eyes gleam in the moonlight, the same ones that still plague Nozomi when she dreams of better times. The smile turns crooked and twists into a taunting sneer, fangs bared in full sight as she speaks again, “After all, it's your fault I became like this.”


	23. alternate universe - vampires pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> direct continuation of last chapter's vampire prompt

She moves faster than anticipated. In the blink of an eye, she disappears from sight. Nozomi stills her breathing, darting her eyes all around.

“Do you want to know how it felt?” a voice breathes into her ear.

Nozomi whirls around. Darkness. Her heart is pounding as she steps back, straining her ears for any sound. A faint crunch makes her whip her head to the side, catching the sight of blue–

_No, she whispers brokenly, don’t leave me–_

A hand slithers up to her body and roughly cups her jaw, pushes it upward and forces her to bare her neck. Another hand wrenches her arm back painfully. There is a breath on her neck, slow and cold. Nozomi’s pulse is erratic but the fingers manage to follow it, tapping against her neck. At the edge of her vision, she can see the hint of blonde. 

Nozomi keeps her eyes straight ahead of her. She refuses to look at that face, refuses to see her mistakes again, refuses to allow herself to be pulled in once more.

The breath disappears, replaced by lips murmuring against her skin. All she can hear is her name. Despite how wrong it all is, Nozomi can’t help but shiver in the embrace. That voice is familiar, this touch is familiar, _everything is–_

A sharp prick on her neck makes her gasp and brings her back, makes her remember the past is already long gone even if she clings to it foolishly. Her past escapes out her mouth before she realizes, a single word that still continues to shackle her. 

“Elichi!” 

The hand disappears immediately. Nozomi is thrown to the floor. Her arm aches. She slaps a hand over her wet neck. She slowly brings it back, preparing herself. 

Nothing.

And when Nozomi looks behind her, there is only darkness and an unmoving body on the ground, just like that day.


	24. falling asleep in the clubroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: nozoeli falling asleep in the clubroom and everyone gushing over them

When Maki arrived at the clubroom, she found Hanayo and Rin crouched outside, with the door barely open. “Hanayo, Rin, what are you–”

“Shh!” Rin held a finger to her lips before waving Maki over, an excited smile on her face. Rolling her eyes slightly and trying not to sigh exasperatedly, she crouched down, with Hanayo shifting to make room for her. The door was opened just a tiny crack, enough to see only one side of the room.

Inside were Nozomi and Eli, leaning against each other in their chairs with their eyes closed. Their chests rose and fell at the same time. It was tough to see, but they realized Eli’s arm was around Nozomi’s, clinging to her slightly. 

“Cute!” 

All three of them turned around, finding the second years standing there, Umi and Honoka in slight confusion. Kotori was the one who let out a soft gasp, peeking in through the crack. 

“I guess they’re tired from student council work?” Umi commented once she got a look, letting out a tiny smile too. 

“Look at how cute they are!” Kotori gushed again, a silly smile on her face.

“They are!” Honoka agreed, before blinking down at all of them. “By the way, are we going to keep standing out here?”

“What are you all doing?” Everyone turned around to find Nico staring at them blankly. “What’s going on?” 

“N-Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan are inside!” Hanayo answered. Nico narrowed her eyes as soon as she heard those words, rushing forward.

“They better _not_ be doing anything–” and Nico pushed open the door to fully reveal the sight of Nozomi and Eli sleeping on each other, “–they shouldn’t… be doing…” At the innocent scene, she let out a sigh of relief. 

Nozomi began to stir, rubbing at her eyes before turning to them, yawning behind her hand. “Hm? Nicocchi? Everyone? What are you all doing?” Eli began to wake afterward as well, blinking groggily at them. 

“… nothing,” Nico muttered as she shoko her head, “let’s just get ready for practice.”


	25. pokemon AU where they die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> points for this oddly specific prompt: nozoeli dies in the wilderness from an accident and nico releases their pokemon, but they choose to follow her instead *inserts scene where nico and nozoeli's pokemon sobbing in anguish

Nico stared at the pokeballs in her hand, carefully schooling her features into blankness. One by one, she slowly released the Pokemon inside. She tried to push down the painful pangs that hit her every time she saw a new face with a torn expression.

“… your trainers aren’t here anymore,” she muttered to them, trying to give her voice a rough edge. “You’re free to do whatever you want.” 

When Gengar, the one that had always tricked her the most with his master, looked at her with an utterly lost expression, Nico could only clench her fists tightly to distract herself from reacting. One by one, the other Pokemon followed his example, shaking their heads and stepping closer to her, looking to her for guidance.

“No, _don’t_ , just…” she felt the words choke up and she turned away, unable to face them any longer. “Y-you guys can do whatever you want now! Go… go back to the w-wild and…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, especially not when Eevee, the Pokemon _they_ were raising together, the one Nico had given to them as a present, came up to her. Eevee rubbed her head against Nico’s leg, mewling softly, her ears downward. Nico picked her up, petting her gently before burying her face into Eevee’s fur, unable to stop her tears from falling any longer. 

Nico didn’t know how long she stayed there. She was surrounded by their Pokemon, all of them letting out low sounds of grief. How was she supposed to help _their_ Pokemon when she still couldn’t even believe that her best friends were really gone?


	26. genderbent nozomi and eli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> now in yaoi form for a prompt

The first time Nozomi saw him, he was standing in the middle of a bridge, looking down with a forlorn expression on his face. When he noticed Nozomi staring at him, he narrowed his eyes, a frown on his face. His exceptionally pretty and soft face, Nozomi couldn’t help but notice. His blond hair clearly marked him as a foreigner, but combined with his seemingly cold demeanor…

Nozomi didn’t think he could ever be interested in someone.

The next time he saw him, he stood in front of Nozomi’s class, introducing himself as the new transfer student. He was so stiff and tense that Nozomi felt like laughing, even more so when he took the empty seat in front of him. Nozomi caught the way his eyes widened the slightest bit, blinking at him in surprise. In the next second, the look was gone and he was composed now, taking his seat without a second thought.  

Nozomi wanted to change that, wanted Eli Ayase to pay attention to him.

With his serious personality, he was easy to tease. And he embarrassed so easily too, turning so red that contrasted with his pale skin! Nozomi couldn’t help himself every time, teasing him whenever an opportunity presented itself. Eli would stutter for a few seconds, a nice shade of pink on his face. Then he’d scowl and tell Nozomi to knock it off, if he knew what was good for him. 

Nozomi knew he should have taken his warning, never realized how much the plan would backfire. 

Nozomi continued on as usual but one day was different. After his usual bout of teasing, Eli reached out suddenly, grabbing his shirt. They stared at each other, Nozomi blinking innocently. His mind finally caught up, and he sucked in a breath when he realized Eli was suddenly so _close_.

“You’re _always_ teasing me all the time,” Eli said, growling softly at the end. Nozomi couldn’t help but shiver at that, unable to speak for once, especially not when Eli grabbed his arms. Eli’s hands were large though not rough, and now Nozomi was also quickly realizing how much _taller_ Eli was, as he stared up into his blue eyes.

Even with a scowl on his face, he was still so pretty. Eli’s fingers cupped his chin, tilting his face up, and Nozomi closed his eyes–

–

“–and that was my dream,” Arisa finished with a clap of her hands. “What did you think?”

“… I think I’m going to have to check the manga Honoka’s sister is lending to you,” Eli could only answer with a nervous laugh.


	27. 3 cm difference

Easily balancing herself on her toes, Eli stretched herself even higher up, purposely keeping her face out of Nozomi’s reach. “Just a little more,” she teased, playfully sticking her tongue out. 

Nozomi, already unsteady from standing on her toes and leaning forward, strained to push herself up, placing her hands on Eli’s shoulders to help balance herself. Still, she couldn’t reach Eli’s face, especially when she tilted it away from her. “Elichi!” 

Eli laughed as Nozomi began to pout. When Nozomi lowered herself back down and her pout changed into a smile though, Eli felt her sense of victory quickly fading. With her hands moving from Eli’s shoulders, Nozomi roughly grabbed the collar of Eli's shirt. 

“Wait, Nozomi–mmphhhff!”


	28. eli -> nozomi -> nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: third years + unrequited love

Eli watches them. 

Even when all Nico does is scowl or shrug her shoulders, Nozomi’s smile never wavers. There is a slight bounce in her step as she tries to keep up with Nico’s rapid pace meant to get away from her. Alongside that mischievous twinkle that Nozomi never quite loses, there’s something else Eli notices, suddenly aware that it is always missing when Nozomi looks at her.  

Nico is harder to figure out but there are moments where her face softens and her words aren’t as sharp as they normally are, always for one person. Even when Nico wears a frown on her face, she can’t hide that look in her eyes, the way the corners of her mouth twitch as if trying to fight against a smile when she watches their underclassmen. 

Eli wonders if that’s why Nozomi looks so wistful at times when she watches Nico. She tries not to think about whether or not she makes that same face herself when she watches Nozomi.


	29. alternate universe - chocolate cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Hello I’m your boss and you’re the new employee who just saw me shove an entire chocolate cupcake into my mouth

Eli hears the creak of the door _right_ as she finishes pushing the rest of the cupcake into her mouth. Adrenaline surging through her, she snaps her head to the sound, and finds an unknown woman standing in the doorway. 

She vaguely remembers her, who is sh–oh! Toujou, she remembers with an imperceptible smile. Toujou… _something_ , she thinks immediately after, the smile slipping from her face. She tries to pull more information from her currently useless mind. The new employee they just hired, Toujou. The same one that she also vaguely remembered Umi telling her about, Toujou. _Whatishername_ Toujou–

“… good morn–” Toujou quickly brings a hand up to her face. Eli narrows her eyes slightly. She definitely _caught_ that snort of laughter. “Good morning,” Toujou tries again, her voice failing to hide her amusement.

Eli returns her greeting out of pure reflex. Since her mouth is currently occupied though, what comes out is nothing but a garbled mess of muffled sounds. What’s worse is when she almost chokes afterward, but manages to catch herself in time. She doesn’t think her cheeks have ever been so red in her entire life. 

They continue to stare at each other without another word. Eli pushes her eyebrows together and tentatively continues to chew, feeling she might need to speak coherently soon. Toujou darts her eyes around, trying to find something else to stare at but her eyes always flicker back to her. Eli slowly swallows the rest of her cupcake, never more aware in her life until now of how food going down her throat feels like.

She looks back down at the table to where the other chocolate cupcake sits in full tantalizing glory, taunting her. However, there are much more pressing matters she needs to address first, and sometimes there are sacrifices that must be made. She picks up the beautiful cupcake and holds out the magnificent pastry in all its chocolate deliciousness to Toujou. She hopes her anguish doesn’t seep into her voice when she finally speaks. 

“… want one?”


	30. strip poker

It was something that seemed like a fun idea at the time even if it took all of Nozomi’s persuasive power to even _convince_ Eli to play. 

And then it all started going downhill from there. 

Nozomi glanced at her cards, slightly nodding to herself in approval. There was no way Eli could possibly have something higher _this_ round. “Show?” she asked, and Eli nodded. 

“Um… I have a full house?” Eli said hesitantly, throwing down her hand. Nozomi slowly widened her eyes as she revealed her own hand, only a flush. When Eli realized she had won yet again, her eyes lit up. “Oh!” 

“Elichi, you’ve won the past five rounds _in a row_ , are you _sure_ you’re not doing anything?” Nozomi couldn’t help but ask incredulously, wondering if her decision to not cheat was a mistake. The only explanation she was willing to accept was all the spirits around her left and had taken her luck with them, or given it to Eli.

“N-Nozomi!” Eli huffed at her. “Of course I wouldn’t cheat! If anything, I should be asking _you_ that.” 

“Does Elichi really trust me so little?” Nozomi batted her eyes innocently as she spoke. “And even if I were, why would I cheat to _lose_?”

“… I don’t know, you’re always…” Eli didn’t finish her sentence but she sighed, waving her hand. “A-and anyway, you’ve lost!” Thinking about her victory made Eli giddy again (and winning six times in a row no doubt added to her excitement) and she could hardly contain her smirk. “So that means it’s… your turn to… take off… uh–” Eli trailed off, covering her mouth with her hand and coughing awkwardly into it as her whole face turned red.

Nozomi glanced down at herself, realizing why Eli had stopped speaking, along with why her eyes were darting up and down at her before pointedly looking away. Nozomi looked back up and put a finger on her lips, grabbing Eli’s attention. 

“So… which piece of clothing should I take off?” she asked, her voice sounding huskier than she intended. Nozomi moved her hand to her shoulder, slowly fingering the straps of her bra. “This? Or…” Dragging her fingers down her body afterward, she played with the zipper of her skirt between two of her fingers. “ _This_? Or maybe…” She trailed her hand down her leg, sneaking her fingers underneath her skirt. Eli sucked in a breath and Nozomi couldn’t help but smile faintly at that. 

Maybe being on the losing side wasn’t so bad for once.


	31. birthday fluff - nozomi (2016)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hadn't meant to do anything but I somehow managed to finish this last minute

By the time they finally left the restaurant, Nozomi felt more than stuffed. She rubbed her stomach and let out a sigh full of contentment.

“I take it that was good?” Eli asked as soon as she came out after paying the bill. Nozomi turned her head toward her, grinning.

“Of course! But with prices like that, I would hope so!” Nozomi’s expression changed into concern. “But that kind of looked a bit too much, are you sure you don’t—”

“Nozomi,” Eli immediately interrupted with a stern look, “I said it was fine, don’t worry about it.” She reached out and took Nozomi’s hand into her own, smiling down at her. “If it’s for you, I don’t mind spending extra, especially for today.”

“But…” Nozomi wanted to argue further but Eli began to tug her along. “E-Elichi!”

“We still have the rest of the night, c’mon!”

Realizing that Eli wasn’t going to listen to her anyway, Nozomi shook her head in exasperation before rushing to catch up with Eli. When she caught up, Eli glanced down at her, offering a soft smile. Nozomi couldn’t help but return it, reaching out with her other hand to hold Eli’s arm. She slowly leaned against it, letting out a sigh when Eli pulled her closer.

She didn’t know what else there was planned for the night, but she was going to be with Eli, and that was more than enough to satisfy her.

–

They made one more stop at a bakery. At Eli’s urging, Nozomi finally pointed to a cake she wanted to try. She wasn’t normally one for sweets and often left it up to Eli but for some reason, she was more than insistent that Nozomi picked out the cake for today. “It doesn’t feel right if I do,” Eli said. Rolling her eyes at Eli’s terrible excuse, Nozomi finally decided on one, a strawberry shortcake. If she remembered right, this bakery was known for them, and neither of them had tried it just yet. 

If she wanted to be honest though, the cake was more for Eli’s sake than hers, and she looked forward to seeing the delight on Eli’s face when she bit into the cake.

“Did you really have to pick up such a big cake? For the both of us?” Nozomi laughed, nudging Eli in the side. “You know that I don’t eat a lot of sweets, you’re going to be eating that by yourself for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you want to finish it before it goes bad.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I wanted to eat cake for a whole week,” Eli grumbled, playfully swatting away Nozomi’s hand.

“I knew it! My birthday was only an excuse to do nothing but eat sweets!”

“Of course.” Eli rolled her eyes but there was a smile on her face. “At least I didn’t pick up anything with caramel in it.”

“How cruel of Elichi to knowingly buy something I don’t like!”

“I didn’t!” Eli playfully knocked their intertwined hands into Nozomi’s side. “And this cake isn’t entirely chocolate too!”

“How sweet,” Nozomi said with a laugh. Eli groaned, muttering under her breath. They continued the rest of the way back to the apartment, talking lightly to each other before falling silent. It was more than comfortable though. It was nice to be in the privacy of their home but being out here, walking around with the warmth of the summer night and the stars twinkling above, was more than fine for Nozomi too.  

She wanted the moment to last a little longer but soon, they were in front of their home.

“Could you get the door? I accidentally left my keys inside,” Eli said with an embarrassed smile. With the smallest amount of regret, Nozomi let go of Eli’s hand, fishing around for her keys inside her bag. Once she found them, her eyes caught the time on her watch as she pulled out the keys.

“Oh, Elichi! It’s already so late! You have an early morning class tomorrow, don’t you?” Nozomi hurriedly put the keys inside the lock, fumbling as she rushed.

“Ah… well…”

Nozomi finally opened the door, quickly pushing it open. In her haste to get them inside, she didn’t notice the telltale signs of the multiple shoes that weren’t theirs. Grinning, Eli followed after Nozomi, making sure the door was quickly closed behind her with a loud slam. As soon as the door closed, Nozomi quickly reached for the light switch—

The lights flicked on, and Nozomi whipped her head up just as a handful of confetti and ribbons were thrown in her face.

“Happy birthday!”

All she could do was stumble backward in surprise, especially as the poppers began to go off, drowning out Nozomi’s shout of surprise. In front of her were the rest of their friends, grinning at her. From behind, she could see Hanayo standing tall over them with a camera in her hands. Was she recording or taking multiple pictures, Nozomi didn’t know, but it was Nico who took her attention away from the embarrassment of being caught surprised.

“Took you guys forever!” Nico shouted at her, an irritated expression on her face that quickly disappeared to become a smile. “Hanayo and Kotori were like _this_ close to making their own cake.”

“C-cake?” Nozomi mumbled confusedly before her eyes widened in realization. She turned to Eli accusingly, who could only laugh at her.

“See, I won’t have to finish it all by myself now,” Eli said with a wink, walking past her to put the cake on the table. Nozomi could only gape at her and everyone else squished into their tiny apartment room.

“B-but everyone said they were busy!” Nozomi weakly said, still unable to believe the sight before her. Last year had been easy, with all of them still in high school, even if the others had discovered the fact only barely a week before the actual date and they all scrambled to throw together something impromptu for her. But this year, she was sure that all of them would be more than busy, with the student council, the new idol group, Nico and her busy schedule of school and work, and…

It was Honoka who rushed forward to throw her arms around her. Not a second after, Rin joined her, and before long, Nozomi was surrounded by everyone else minus Eli, who was calmly setting down all the plates and utensils for the cake.

“How could we skip out on something like Nozomi-chan’s birthday?” Honoka shouted at her.

“You… you all didn’t have to…” Nozomi couldn’t continue her words. She had repeatedly told them that they didn’t need to do anything for her, and if they were too busy, to not worry about it.

“But we _wanted_ to.” It was Umi who spoke, standing behind everyone next to Maki, who nodded her shared sentiment with a rare genuine smile. Everyone else chorused the same words before pulling Nozomi forward, to where the cake was.

“Here!” Kotori chirped, fitting a party hat on Nozomi’s head. They pushed her down in front of the cake, with all the candles brightly lit. They all watched her expectantly afterward, waiting.

“W-well…” Nozomi tried to recompose herself. “If you’re all insisting t-then…” She ignored Nico and Eli’s snickers, knowing that only they knew how flustered she really was. Counting down to one in her mind, she took a deep breath and blew out the candles. The moment she did, there were even more streamers and ribbons flying around, and loud cheering courtesy of Rin and Honoka.

Nozomi watched them all with a fond smile, trying her best to keep her eyes dry. She thought she was more than satisfied earlier, but she realized there was no fooling herself any longer. There were no words to properly describe the immense happiness swelling inside Nozomi right now. Even so, she felt like she needed to say something, anything, in this moment.

Amid all the noise though, no one could hear Nozomi’s next words, spoken in a whisper full of affection.

“Thank you.”


	32. seven minutes in heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> full prompt was: We’ve been nothing but friends for our whole lives but then we played seven minutes in heaven on a dare and now I think I might actually be in love with you

Being stuck in a closet with her friend of many years was _not_ what Eli thought was going to happen to her. 

Stuck in a painfully cramped closet, no less. 

Eli tried to move her hand but when she touched something inexplicably soft and heard a breathless gasp from under her ear, she completely froze, not even daring to move anymore. 

“N-Nozomi?” she tried, hoping she conveyed only a tiny amount of the nervousness she had. 

“Y-yes?” Nozomi’s voice was low, far too low than Eli would have liked in this situation. 

“Are… are you, uh, okay?”

“… I’m as comfortable as can be.” Despite everything that had happened, Nozomi’s voice was dry. 

“… okay, yeah, good point.” Eli hoped Nozomi couldn’t feel her blushing but with how close they were, that was unlikely. 

Save for the tiny crack of light under the door, it was completely dark. Initial surprise at being shoved into a closet with Nozomi wearing off now, Eli was beginning to realize _exactly_ the predicament she was in. Outside, she could hear the chatter of their classmates but it all started to sound faint to her. 

She took in several deep breaths, trying to calm her quickening heartbeat. It didn’t work and she could feel the terror beginning to seize her, a cold sweat beginning to break across her body. She darted her eyes all around even despite knowing that it was futile and all she would see would be nothing but darkness. 

“Elichi?” She could feel Nozomi shifting, something moving in the air, most likely her hand. She tried to answer but what came out was a quiet whimper instead. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to keep the tears from falling.

“Elichi.” There was a hand on her face now, gently stroking her cheek. Soon, a second hand joined it on the other side of her face and Eli felt herself being lowered until her forehead touched what she presumed was Nozomi’s shoulder.

“N-Nozomi–” 

“Shh, just focus on me, okay?” Nozomi said instead, humming softly under her breath. Eli could only nod weakly and let Nozomi’s arms wrap around her, concentrating on Nozomi’s voice. She hesitantly reached out, pulling Nozomi closer to her and balling her hands into the fabric of her friend’s shirt.

Nozomi rubbed her hands over Eli’s back, still humming, a tune Eli couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was one of their songs, or maybe something nonsensical, she didn’t know and didn’t care, desperate to focus on Nozomi and only Nozomi in this moment. 

It was slow but she could feel herself calming and instead of the darkness that surrounded her, it was Nozomi instead. Nozomi, who was holding her and rubbing her back soothingly. Nozomi, who murmured in her ear so Eli could focus on her and not the dreadful silence of the darkness. Nozomi, who was always there for her and had always comforted her even when she discovered this embarrassing secret of Eli’s. 

She didn’t know how long they stayed like that but when the door opened and the darkness disappeared, she almost cried at seeing the precious light streaming through. Nozomi immediately pulled back and tugged on Eli’s hand, pulling them to their feet. Eli’s feet were wobbly and though she was still struggling to catch her breathing, at least she was out of the darkness, and Nozomi stayed with a steady hand wrapped around her, waiting until Eli was stable enough to finally pull away. 

Nozomi was now standing in front of their classmates, scolding them lightly for suddenly pushing them into the closet without warning. Eli wanted to tell her it was fine and as long as they didn’t do it again, it was okay, but she found herself stuck on words as she watched her friend. 

If it wasn’t for Nozomi, Eli didn’t even want to imagine how the scenario would have played out instead, how even more terrified she would have been. Despite teasing her about it every now and then, whenever her fear appeared, Nozomi was always quick to comfort her and calm her down before Eli could do anything. Nozomi was amazing and she was so lucky to have a friend like her. Nozomi was… Nozomi…

When Nozomi looked over at her and smiled reassuringly, Eli felt her heartbeat speed up again and a completely different realization began to take a hold of her instead.


	33. alternate universe - childhood friends

There was a small girl sitting down at the bench, crying. She wasn’t loud, but she had her hands on her face and she was making noises that didn’t sound happy. Which meant she was crying, Nozomi figured.

Nozomi looked around, wondering if maybe she could avoid the girl. It was already hard enough for Nozomi to talk to her own peers after barely moving to the area, and now there was… this. Nozomi knew it would only be a matter of time before she moved again and didn’t bother with trying to make friends.

The more she thought about it though, the more guilty she felt, especially when she could hear the girl’s sobs get louder. Nozomi took a step, and the items jiggling in her pocket made her realize she might have something to cheer up the girl. 

And now, Nozomi knew the perfect solution to get rid of the chocolate she had been given from the old ladies around the block. 

She walked over to the sobbing girl, digging into her pockets and taking out the candy. “U-um, hi.” 

The girl looked up, and now Nozomi was beginning to realize how different this girl was. Her hair was yellow and her eyes were blue. Nozomi had never that sort of look unless she was at the airports taking off for her new homes. They were foreigners, her mom told her. Was this girl a foreigner? Was she she going to understand Nozomi? Did she understand Japanese? 

“U-uh… I mean… here!” she said again as she tried to remember the English her parents had taught her. 

“H-huh?” The girl looked down at it, moving her head sideways. “What… what is that?” she asked (Nozomi was very happy to find that she did speak Japanese), her sobbing stopped to give Nozomi a suspicious look.  

“Take it!” Nozomi held it closer. “It’s chocolate.” 

“C-chocolate?!” And just like that, the girl reached out but her hands stopped before taking the chocolate, hovering right above it. “Are… are you sure? It’s okay? You won’t get mad?” 

Nozomi reached down with her other hand, pulling out a whole handful. “I have more!” she said. When the girl looked at her in amazement, the smile on Nozomi’s face began to feel genuine.

The girl whispered something that Nozomi didn’t understand at all. It sounded foreign but that wasn’t English. Was it? But she stopped thinking about it when the girl took the candy from her hands. She looked down to Nozomi’s other hand though. 

“I can give you the rest. I don’t like these that much, they’re caramel flavored.” 

“R-really!?” She quickly tried to wipe her face on her sleeves before looking back up. Even though her face was red and her nose was puffy, she smiled up at Nozomi. 

She looked prettier when she smiled, Nozomi thought.

“Wake up!” 

A sudden swat on her head made Nozomi yelp, jumping straight up. Above her stood the very same girl she had been thinking of, much older and taller now. “Had a nice dream?” Eli asked dryly.  

“I had a dream about when we first met,” Nozomi answered, unable to help the grin afterward when Eli gawked at her, her face slowly turning pink.

“J-jeez! Why are you remembering something like that?!” Eli’s face was red now and she let out a low moan of embarrassment, covering her face. “That’s so long ago!” 

“It was our very first meeting! It was clearly foretold in the cards,” Nozomi teased, nudging Eli. 

“You weren’t even using your tarot cards back then,” Eli muttered. 

“But if I were, they would have said the same thing.” 

“Ah! Just shut up and help me finish the rest of the student council work!” 

Nozomi looked down at the pile of paperwork in front of her, realizing if she had fallen asleep on the desk a few centimeters higher up, she would have ended up drooling on the papers instead. “So much paperwork…” she said with a sigh.

“I told you if you didn’t want to be part of the student council, you didn’t have to,” Eli pointed out again for the umpteenth time. 

“Well, you need someone to help support you, right? Who better to do that than me?” Nozomi stuck her tongue out playfully at her friend. “Who would’ve thought that crybaby from back then would become so reliable? You always got _so_ upset over everything.” 

“Nozomi!” Eli stuck her own tongue out at her. “You’re exaggerating, I didn’t cry over _everything.”_

“Are you sure? I can count all the times you dropped your chocolate ice cream on the ground and if it wasn’t for me giving you–” 

“O-o-okay!” Eli tried to glare at her but the pink tinge on her face lessened its effect. Not that it had much anyway, with Nozomi always being on the receiving end that she had grown immune to it. “Jeez, you’re still always teasing me all the time.”

Nozomi smiled lopsidedly at her. “I can’t help it, you’re just always so cute whenever you’re flustered.” 

“Ah, is that so.” Eli’s voice was flat and she shook her head exasperatedly. She tapped the desk. “You’ve still got the paperwork to do.” 

“… darn.” Nozomi sighed dramatically. “So much for that second nap.” 

“Thank you for giving me your afternoon naps, I feel so special.” Eli rolled her eyes but she had a tiny smile on her face.

“You should! It’s not like I do this for everyone!” 

“I know, I know, only for me right?” Though Eli’s voice was exasperated. she didn’t expect her friend to suddenly turn to her, taking her arm in a smooth motion and leaning her head on her shoulder. It had always been Eli’s favorite thing to do when she was fully comfortable, leaning against Nozomi. ”You always spoil me too much.”

They did this countless times but Nozomi couldn’t help but stiffen in this moment, barely moving as she glanced down at her friend. They were growing up, and Nozomi was beginning to notice that Eli was no longer awkwardly lanky as she was in their middle school days. They were in the middle of their second year of high school and Eli was already starting to fill out in all the right places, already taller than Nozomi since their first year and growing still, and her body becoming toned and lithe from the dance practices she still did to keep herself in shape. There were times where Nozomi couldn’t help but stare at her longtime friend, completely mesmerized.

There… there was no way, was there? There just… there just couldn’t be… they had been friends ever since they were little… Eli used to always hide behind her all the time and ask Nozomi to get rid of the bugs… when and how did this… 

It wasn’t fair that Eli looked more and more beautiful everyday, she couldn’t help but think. It just wasn’t _fair,_ because Nozomi had no choice but to fall deeper in love with her.


	34. domestic fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> full prompt: standing quietly together in the kitchen after long, exhausting days, leaning into each other for support, breathing in the smell of home, fingers carding through hair and stroking down spines, until they feel like they can relax and smile properly again

The apartment was unexpectedly dark just like the night outside, when Nozomi finally came back. Slightly surprised, she fumbled around, trying to take off her shoes without trying to stumble over anything. She somehow managed though there were some close calls and dragged herself down the hallway afterward, flicking on the switch. 

The moment she turned on the light though, the door opened once more. There stood Eli, and the both of them stared at each other with a bewildered expression, clearly not expecting to catch each other at the same time. 

“Nozomi?” Eli swept her eyes over Nozomi, realizing she was still dressed in her work clothes. “Did you just get back too?” 

“Yep, looks like just a few minutes earlier than you,” Nozomi answered, letting out a yawn afterward. Eli smiled in sympathy. 

“Long day for you too, huh?” The long sigh she received told her everything she needed to know. Nozomi trudged over to their kitchen, stifling another yawn behind her mouth.

“What do you want to eat for dinner?” she asked. 

“Anything’s fine, maybe something easy? We can cook it together too! Let me change real quick.” With those words, Eli quickly walked off to their bedroom. 

Nozomi laughed quietly at how excited Eli seemed to be at the thought of being able to cook dinner together, even something simple. It was a rarity that they were home at the same time, especially as of recently when it looked as if they were both getting busier, so she couldn’t exactly blame Eli’s enthusiasm. Nozomi was beginning to feel some of it rub off on her too. Unfortunately though…

“Elichi, we need to go grocery shopping soon. All we have in here is that cake Kotori gave us at the beginning of the week.” Eli stuck her head out of the doorway, a hopeful look on her face. “No, we’re not eating only this for dinner!” Eli’s expression changed into a pout and she disappeared back into their bedroom. 

“What _do_ we have then?” Eli called out a moment later. 

Nozomi took another look into the fridge before closing it and looking around the apartment. Opening the cabinets revealed some instant packages they could cook but if Nozomi wanted to be honest, she didn’t feel like eating any of it. She was more in the mood of taking a hot bath and lounging around on the floor with her eyes closed. 

“Don’t feel like eating any of those?” And Nozomi yelped when she realized Eli was suddenly next to her, now dressed in a simple shirt and shorts and rummaging through the cabinets. “Well…” She pulled out some packs of instant noodles. “I think we at least had _some_ vegetables. How about we just cook these up and use the rest of whatever we have left in the fridge? It’ll be easy enough.” 

“Yeah, we can do that,” Nozomi agreed, already grabbing a pot and pouring water into it for boiling. 

“I got the rest, don’t worry about it,” Eli said, already making her way over to the fridge and taking out what little they had to prepare for dumping into their spontaneous soup. “Just watch over the water and don’t let it all steam away like last time.” 

“Jeez!” Nozomi coughed into her hand, fighting against the rising blush. “And whose fault do you think that was?” The smile Eli gave her was entirely cheeky. Nozomi rolled her eyes and focused instead on trying to keep from falling asleep as she watched over their water heating on top of the stove. It certainly wasn’t helping that several minutes later, Eli came next to her, wrapping her arms around her. 

“Done already?” Nozomi murmured, trying to resist the overwhelming urge to close her eyes as she leaned into the embrace.

“Yeah, we didn’t have that much. I should get off earlier tomorrow and I’ll pick up some things to last us the week. We’ll go again during the weekend?” Eli said in a equally quiet voice. 

“Sounds good. Just make sure not to buy _only_ chocolate.” Nozomi tried not to laugh when she felt Eli stiffening in response.

“Okay, I only did that like _one_ time, and that was _years_ ago.” 

“But you still did it! I can’t believe it still.” Eli only sighed, refusing to answer because she knew if she did, Nozomi would continue to make fun of her. 

“A-anyway, water’s boiling,” she pointed out instead, letting go of Nozomi to reach behind her to the counter where she prepared their random pieces of vegetables. Nozomi opened their packs of instant noodles and, along with Eli, dumped the ingredients into the pot.

“… shouldn’t we have boiled the vegetables first? Or maybe the noodles instead of just throwing everything in?” Eli asked, blinking at the pot. Nozomi waved a dismissive hand. 

“It’ll all be cooked in the end, I don’t think it really matters.” 

Eli looked as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it, shaking her head with a sigh. “I’m too tired to care too.” She reached into another cabinet, grabbing a pair of chopsticks that Nozomi took after to stir their impromptu and lazy dinner. Seeing there was nothing else to do but wait, she returned to her original position, hugging Nozomi from behind once more. “Thank you,” she murmured into Nozomi’s hair.

Nozomi shot a quick glance behind her before turning back to the stove, her hand moving absently as she stirred their dinner. Slowly, she leaned her head back, smiling contentedly when Eli pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.


	35. random angst

Eli stood outside the door, hand on the knob. Her hand was clammy and there was a knot in her throat that still hadn’t gone away since she made up her mind. The anticipation and nervousness welling inside reminded of her of when she was waiting at her ballet recitals, impatient for her turn but dreading the aftermath of when she would be told, once more, that her best wasn’t enough. 

Taking a deep breath, she hesitated for only a second longer before twisting the knob, all but throwing open the door after.

Nozomi startled from the door opening so quick, turning to Eli with a bemused look. Eli swallowed, staring at Nozomi for a quick moment before she opened her mouth. 

The feelings that she kept locked deep inside her heart began to spill out. Though the speech she had practiced multiple times started to stray and her words became clumsy, her passion didn’t wane and she let it drive her forward, speaking what she had always wanted to say, always wanted to tell Nozomi. The words continued until she had no more left, nothing else to fully describe what she felt for Nozomi. And now, she had no choice but to wait, hoping, _wishing,_ that at least this would be different–

When Nozomi only smiled at her, even before any words had been spoken, Eli realized, once more–

“I’m sorry.” 

–that she had fallen short.


	36. kiss prompts - I'm sorry

Nozomi ignores the hands trying to grab her arm, swatting them away as she paces through the house. Eli tries to keep up with her.

“Nozomi! You’re still mad, aren’t you? I said I was sorry!” 

“I’m not mad!” Nozomi mumbles angrily, pouting as she glances away. Eli sighs, firmly grabbing Nozomi’s shoulders. Before Nozomi can pull out of the hold, Eli is suddenly in front of her. There’s a guilty expression on her face, her eyes pleading. She leans down, takes Nozomi’s hand, presses a soft kiss onto it.

“… I’m sorry I put caramel in your coffee,” Eli apologizes again. Nozomi watches her for a moment before a snort breaks out, unable to hide her giggles. “You weren’t mad!?”

“I still am,” Nozomi says carefully. Despite her words, a faint smile is on her face. She steps backward out of Eli’s grasp and points at her mouth. “I can still taste the caramel in my mouth though, but if Elichi…”

Eli quickly steps forward and changes that.


	37. kiss prompts - surprised

When Eli enters the student council room, Nozomi is standing by the window. The sunlight shines down on her, bathing her in a gentle light that makes her seem ephemeral. Eli swallows at the sight and carefully pads her way around the table, not wanting to disturb her friend just yet. When she gets closer, she calls out her name. 

“Nozomi.” 

The girl in question turns her head, a smile already on her face. “Hm? Elichi–” she doesn’t finish because Eli suddenly pulls forward and kisses her. Eli’s hands are already reaching out, tugging Nozomi’s back into her, pressing her even closer. After a moment of recognition, Nozomi smiles and presses back, her hands on top of where Eli’s are, wrapped around Nozomi’s middle. 

“What… what was that for?” Nozomi asks afterward in a shaky breath, her cheeks tinged pink. Eli delights in the way Nozomi seems flustered, her voice slightly breathless. Shaking her head, Eli only smiles softly at her. 

“Nothing, I just wanted to do it.”


	38. kiss prompts - returned from the dead

The jagged scar on the right side of that beautiful face runs from the top of the brow to the middle of the cheek is what immediately catches Nozomi’s attention. Before she even realizes, she’s reaching out, her touches fluttering against it.

It’s impossible, it can’t be, but there’s only one name Nozomi dares to breathe out in this moment.

“Eli… chi?”

The person in front of her moves, kissing the inside of Nozomi’s palm. She raises her hand, lays it on top of Nozomi’s, grips it hard.

“Nozomi, I’m back,” she hears.

Nozomi stares at her hand, stares into those beautiful blue eyes that keep haunting her in her dreams, whenever she closes her eyes, when she looks off in the distance and sees blonde hair and–

“Nozomi.” Her voice, even in a faint whisper, is still so achingly familiar. Nozomi doesn’t know how much she’s longed to hear that voice once more. “Nozomi?”

Her resolve shatters in that moment. Arms wrap around her before she can fall to the ground. The embrace makes Nozomi let out a choked sob as she remembers how painfully familiar this feels.

“Nozomi,” she hears again. She thinks that if this is a dream, she’ll hope it’ll last forever.

“Elichi?” she whispers back. The person nods. “Elichi.” Nozomi slowly pulls back, cupping the face of her beloved.

“Nozomi, I’m here now. I won’t leave again,” Eli murmurs, smiling softly at her.

Nozomi only hesitates for a moment before pulling Eli down, crashing their lips together. It hurts, but Eli doesn’t pull away either, desperately clutching at her with just as much ferocity. 

They pull away and Nozomi has to resist the urge to do it again. Instead, she smiles, smiles so widely that even her jaw hurts.

“Welcome back, Elichi.”


	39. kiss prompts - war's end

Eli’s knee gives out just as she sees the soldier charging toward her with his spear. She brings her shield around–and then recalls it was knocked out of her hand at the beginning of this final battle for their lives. She clutches at her own spear instead, preparing herself. If she will fall here, she will not be going alone. 

There’s a loud boom and suddenly something bright flies through the skies. _Everything_ stops moving in that moment, all staring upward. The ominous clouds clear up and for the first time in so many months, Eli can see the endless blue of the sky, the very thing she’s been fighting for this whole time.

They’ve done it, they’ve won this hellish nightmare. Eli can’t help but laugh slowly, eyes wide with disbelief.

The soldier in front of her grits his teeth, stares at Eli in anger, as if it’s her fault that his side’s lost. Eli only taunts him with a grin, the sense of victory taking over her common senses. He sneers at her and thrusts his spear–

The spear falls to the ground before he joins it as well, an arrow through his head. Then, there are hands on Eli, helping her upright. Eli blinks, still too surprised by everything that’s happened. 

“Elichi, are you okay?” Nozomi is by her side, looking at her worriedly. Ah, these hands are Nozomi’s, Eli thinks absently as she stares into Nozomi’s eyes. A wide grin is the only warning Nozomi has before Eli reaches up and pulls her down for a kiss. 

Nozomi’s eyes are wide but she responds quickly, her hands trying to tug Eli even closer. Eli only laughs, grinning at the way Nozomi is trying to kiss all over her face instead. Her happiness is infectious and before long, Nozomi is laughing helplessly with her, tears streaming down their faces as they both look up at the clear skies, both silently thankful for them surviving and living to see this day.


	40. kiss prompts - exhausted

By the time Rin and Honoka manage to actually fall asleep, Eli is more than ready to knock out herself. She tiredly slides down onto the floor and leans against the couch instead, absently placing her arm up on the couch. Nozomi easily fits in next to her, laughing softly at the surprised expression on Eli’s face. 

“They’re quite the handful, aren’t they?”

“Remind me to never provide alcohol ever again,” Eli only mutters, shaking her head exasperatedly.

“It was fun though!” Nozomi replies with a grin that is far too satisfied to be trustworthy as she sweeps her eyes over the rest of their friends. 

Hanayo is sleeping in the corner, giggling slightly in her sleep. Umi is clinging tightly to her, with her hands in questionable positions. Maki is sprawled face down next to them, twitching every now and then. Honoka is upside down on their stairs and snoring away. Rin’s grabbed onto Nico’s leg while she tried to escape to Eli and Nozomi’s guestroom but fell down and accepted her fate of being Rin’s pillow. Kotori isn’t here but Eli suspects she might have been the one to make it up to their guestroom. 

Eli groans as she lets her head loll back onto the couch. “We have to move them too.” 

“As long as we don’t let Rin-chan grab us, it won’t be too hard,” Nozomi reminds her.

“… of course,” Eli mutters with a sigh. Nozomi smiles, turning to her and patting her face. 

“The faster we get done, the faster we can sleep ourselves and kick everyone out in the morning, okay?” 

“Fine,” Eli grumbles. Nozomi chuckles and moves forward, kissing her gently. By the way Nozomi’s body completely sags into hers when Eli wraps her arms around her, Eli can also feel the weariness and exhaustion in Nozomi as well. She leans completely against Eli afterward, letting out a long sigh. Eli presses a kiss to Nozomi’s forehead, resting her head against hers for a moment before bringing the both of them to their feet. 

“Well, let’s get this over with,” she says, walking to the mess of bodies that are their friends. She carefully steps over Rin just as Rin’s hand shoots out, abruptly grabbing Eli’s leg and pulling her down in one smooth motion.  

Eli doesn’t get up, and Nozomi has never felt more tired in her whole life.


	41. kiss prompts - "I almost lost you"

Nozomi manages to drag Eli into the bushes just as the monsters run past her, screeching loudly into the darkness. She pulls Eli close and pushes down the rising panic when there is wetness underneath her hands. Taking a moment to steel her nerves, she holds her breath and stays absolutely still. Just a few more seconds and they’ll be gone, a few more seconds and they can have some time to rest, just a few more–

The bushes rustles and there is a low growl, right next to Nozomi’s ear. Nozomi’s hands clench painfully into Eli but no sound escapes out of her. There’s another growl, on top of her head now. Nozomi can feel the sweat dripping off her face as she nearly balls her fists, feels her fingers sliding against each other because they’re slick with blood. 

The bushes rustle again and Nozomi can hear the stomps leading away from their position before fading away completely. She lets out a quick breath before holding it again, just to be sure. 

When silence reigns for several more seconds, she forcefully exhales, taking in deep breaths afterward. But there’s no time to be worrying about her right now, turning her attention to the unconscious Eli. She shakes Eli lightly, pleading frantically. “Elichi, Elichi!”  

A groan makes her freeze just as before but for a different reason now, as her heart quickens with hopeful anticipation. The body in her arms starts to stir. 

“No… Nozomi?” Eli murmurs, groaning painfully. She gasps in surprise when Nozomi hugs her. “What… what happened–” 

“ _Elichi._ ” She understands then, quieting down to hum softly as she raises her hands, returning Nozomi’s hug. Eli uses Nozomi to pull herself up into a proper sitting position, panting lightly. “Are, are you–”

Eli cuts off Nozomi’s panicked voice with a kiss, one that Nozomi returns with desperation, trying to take in as much as Eli as she can. Eli widens her eyes in surprise but lets Nozomi do as she pleases, hoping she’ll calm down with this.

Finally, Nozomi pulls back, panting and leaning against Eli. She reaches up, patting Eli’s face before looking up. Eli smiles at her though she can’t help the wince of pain when she tries to move. Nozomi hugs her again, another brief moment before she rises to her feet, carefully lifting Eli up. Eli whimpers and Nozomi hesitates before Eli weakly tugs on her.

“I’m, I’m fine now,” she says though her voice is strained. “We’ll have to meet up with everyone else and it’ll be safer. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Despite her worry, Nozomi can only nod in response, knowing they have no choice but to continue if they want to even have a hope of survival.


	42. kiss prompts - french kiss

The soft touches on her face cause Eli to giggle, makes her pull Nozomi closer to her. Nozomi can’t help the silly smile that escapes, especially when Eli presses kisses to her fingertips whenever they pass by her mouth. Nozomi splays her fingers across Eli’s face, tilts her face up and moves as if she’s leaning forward. Eli closes her eyes in anticipation.

A kiss on her chin instead makes Eli open her eyes, trying to peer down. Nozomi only smiles cheekily at her in response, trailing her fingers down Eli’s neck. Eli almost huffs but controls herself at the last second. Two can play this game, she decides. 

Eli leans down, her hands slipping underneath Nozomi’s shirt as she pulls her closer. Nozomi gasps when Eli only presses a kiss to her nose. Eli moves to kiss Nozomi’s ear to hide the grin splitting across her face, listens as Nozomi whines next to her ear. Nozomi’s hands tug on her, impatient and needy. Eli dips her head and easily takes Nozomi’s lips with her own, grinning into the kiss.

She doesn’t expect Nozomi to push back suddenly, and Eli’s back hits the wall. She gasps, her eyes wide as Nozomi takes full advantage of her open mouth by pushing her tongue through. Eli snaps her eyes shut, trying to hold herself together as Nozomi continues to taste her, drink her in, take all of her in. When Nozomi only presses her body closer and forces a knee between Eli’s legs, Eli feels her mind go blank, unable to think of anything past the taste of Nozomi in her mouth. 

Eli is completely dazed when Nozomi finally pulls back, the both of them breathing heavily. She’s barely catching her breath when Nozomi only gives her a playful grin and pulls her back in once more.


	43. birthday fluff - Eli (2015)

Today doesn’t feel like it’ll be different, Eli can’t help but think. She wakes up and though her mother and sister have more cheer than usual, it feels largely the same. Her grandmother isn’t here with them this year but that’s fine, she’ll make a video call later tonight.

The walk to school seems normal as well, the chill of the autumn air enveloping her. It’s cold but according to her mother, it’ll get worse in the early months of the new year. It still isn’t so bad though, not like her homeland. 

Just as always, Nozomi is already waiting for her at the base of the shrine. She turns to Eli with a smile, waving. Eli returns the gesture with a nod, picking up her pace.

“Good morning, Elichi,” Nozomi chirps.

“Good morning. Should we be on our way?” 

“That sounds good, it’s a little too chilly out here.” 

They continue their walk to school in companionable silence. It’s normal as always. She wonders if she should mention something though she doesn’t want Nozomi to feel like she has to get Eli something. If she asks, she’ll tell, Eli thinks to herself, never mind that it would be a strange question to ask out of no where. 

“–chi? Elichi!” A pinch on her arm makes Eli yelp in pain. Nozomi lets go with a small laugh. “Elichi, zoning out? You don’t normally do that while we’re walking.” 

“I-I was just thinking about something,” Eli says with a huff. “A-anyway, did you need anything?” She glances over at her friend–Nozomi suddenly looks shy for some reason, her eyes not quite meeting Eli’s. She grips the handle of her bag a little tighter. “N-Nozomi?” Eli asks, voice worried. “Something the matter?” 

“A-ah! I, um.” Nozomi coughs into her hand. “Sorry. Are… are you busy later?” she asks carefully, glancing at Eli out of the corner of her eyes. 

“I’ll have to be back for dinner but before that, I’m free.” 

“Then, you’ll be mine for all afternoon,” Nozomi says with a playful grin. Eli sputters, bringing up her hand to hide her face. 

“N-Nozomi! Stop teasing me so much!” All she gets in return is a laugh.

That’s the same as it always is too though. Even her lunch that her mother packed full of all her favorite foods still makes Eli feel like it isn’t really that different.

And now, after school, she stands outside of Nozomi’s home, watching her friend unlock the door. 

“Pardon the intrusion,” Eli murmurs, carefully taking off her shoes and following Nozomi into her living room. Nozomi gestures for her to take a seat before heading over to the kitchen area, presumably to ready the tea.

“Got any other plans for today?” Nozomi suddenly calls out. 

“No, just dinner with my family and calling my grandmother later, I guess,” she answers easily. Nozomi makes a sound but doesn’t continue the conversation when the piercing screech of the boiling kettle rings through the apartment. Eli waits patiently, glancing all around the other side of the apartment instead. When the tray gets put down in front of her, Eli looks down–

–and blinks, realizing that other than the cups of tea she expected, there is also a cake in front of her. It’s a small round cake covered in chocolate with strawberries on top, also covered in chocolate. In contrast to the chocolate, there’s white frosting and in the middle is a small decoration that says happy birthday. 

“I… I wasn’t sure if you wanted anything so I bought you this chocolate cake instead.” Nozomi’s voice is soft and unsure. 

“You… you did,” Eli says slowly, still staring at the cake. “I… but how? I didn’t…” 

“Your sister came by the shrine last week and told me about it,” Nozomi answers, her voice still uncertain. “And… well… I wanted to do something since you’re… my friend.” She slowly takes the seat in front of Eli, suddenly shy. “I… um, happy birthday, Elichi.” 

Eli doesn’t speak, still staring at the cake. Slowly though, she brings her eyes up to Nozomi, blinking rapidly. Nozomi looks away and fidgets under her scrutiny.

“Aren’t… aren’t there supposed to be candles for me to blow out?” Eli finally says with a small smile. “And you’re supposed to sing happy birthday to me too, aren’t you?”

“O-oh!” Nozomi stands up and rushes away to the counter, grabbing a candle. “I-I forgot! And they only gave me four though. I don’t think I have sixteen anywhere.” She comes back and gingerly puts them on with such care that Eli almost laughs. When she finishes, she hurries off and comes back with a lighter, lighting up the candles. They stare at it for several seconds.

“Are… are you going to sing?” Eli asks, fighting against the smile she wants to make.

“I… right,” Nozomi says, flustered for some reason. Eli shakes her head and waves her hands.

“No, it’s alright, you don’t have to, I was just–” 

“Elichi,” Nozomi interrupts with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s your birthday after all, right?”

Nozomi’s voice fills the air of the small living room and Eli has to hold her laughter in when Nozomi’s voice cracks a few times or when she accidentally stutters. She must be nervous, Eli thinks, not that Eli herself is much better, heart pounding as she looks over at Nozomi and the cake in front of her.

This is her first birthday cake in Japan, she thinks.

She listens to Nozomi finish the song and Nozomi sort just… waves her hands awkwardly, giving a tiny “yay!” at the end. And now Eli really does laugh, laugh even more when Nozomi gives her a tiny pout.

“B-blow out your candles!” Nozomi mumbles in mock anger. Eli still laughs but she leans forward, blowing all of them out in one breath. “Here’s the knife,” Nozomi says, handing it over and also pushing out a plate before taking the candles off. Eli positions the knife over the cake and doesn’t really want to cut it but Nozomi bought it for her and if Eli wanted to be honest, she could never deny chocolate cake.

She cuts them both a slice and they dig in. “Delicious!” Eli says with a grin. “Where did you get this?”

“There was this new cake shop by the station that just opened up. I had a sample and liked it.”

“Oh?” Eli cuts another bite of her cake. “We should go sometime then.”

“… yeah.”

Even through the euphoria of eating chocolate cake, there’s something odd about Nozomi, she thinks. She can’t really tell though. They… they aren’t _that_ close, only knowing each other for a few months, but Nozomi still bought a cake for her. And… and she _is_ Eli’s first and only friend since coming to Japan. Those have to count for something. It’s her birthday but she wonders if there’s something she can do for her friend, something she can say to take away that look of loneliness on Nozomi’s face.

“I… um, sorry for not telling you,” she starts, “I didn’t want you to feel like you had to get me something.”

“It’s fine,” Nozomi says. She opens her mouth and looks as if she’s about to say something else but pauses, shaking her head instead. What was she about to say? Eli wants to know but she suddenly feels anxious. The words start pouring out of her before she realizes.

“Next year,” she blurts out. “I… uh, I mean, next year. Next year too. This… I had fun this year, so… next year… too…” she trails off, frowning at how she can’t seem to get any other word to come out. She clears her throat and tries again. “Thank you for, er, today. It… it made me happy,” she mumbles, awkwardly glancing down at her plate as she continues, “so next year… uh, we should… also do a party for you too. It’s not fair.” After a few seconds pass, she sneaks a glance.

Nozomi’s eyes are slightly widened, surprised at Eli’s outburst. Her cheeks also take on a pink tinge but she slowly nods, a tiny smile on her face. “Y-yeah, next year.”

Everything suddenly feels alright.

Eli smiles wistfully at that memory, laughing under her breath. A small pinch on her arm makes her turn her head and look up. She doesn’t really need to look though, already knowing who it is.

“Elichi, zoning out for your birthday again?” Nozomi asks with a quiet laugh. 

“No… I was just remembering something,” she replies as she takes another bite of her cake. It’s still chocolate like it always is but there’s a different taste to it. It’s sweeter and there is a small hint of coffee in the cream inside. Everyone made the cake though so she can’t really complain, not that she would. It’s absolutely delicious.

“It’s a bigger celebration this year, isn’t it?” Nozomi murmurs as she looks out toward the rest of the room. Eli follows her gaze, the corners of her mouth quirked upward. 

The clubroom is a mess, with confetti and balloons everywhere, all sorts of decorations. Eli hasn’t taken a good look at herself yet but she bets there’s probably some strands of ribbons stuck in her hair from when they opened the poppers as she stepped into the room. They pushed her down into the chair at the head of the table and it’s been nothing but a whirlwind of activity as they sing and hand her presents.

Rin tried to put some cream on Eli’s face earlier but Nico hit her plate by pure accident and flipped Rin’s cake into her own face instead. The two of them still aren’t back from cleaning up, most likely Rin still fooling around. All the others are standing around and talking to each other now as they give Nozomi and Eli some space. It’s very appreciated, what with Honoka loudly cheering nonstop next to her ear just several minutes ago.

For the last two years, she’s only had one voice singing happy birthday to her. This year, she has eight. It feels so different, especially now that the cake she used to get is bigger too now, made for more than two people to eat. It makes her laugh though, because they actually tried to fit the candles for her age on the cake and then had to rush through the song because the wax on all the candles were starting to drop onto the cake. It’s been nothing short of interesting, Eli has to admit.

“How are you?” Nozomi asks, putting a hand on her shoulder. Eli glances down at it before she leans over with her head. The back of Nozomi’s fingers rise slightly to playfully tap against her cheek. 

“I’m happy,” Eli says with crinkled eyes, “I’m… really happy.” She shoots a glance up at Nozomi. “Thanks for organizing this.”

“Hm? What makes you say that?”

“Nozomi.” Eli moves her head up to meet her eyes. “I hope you really didn’t think I wouldn’t notice?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nozomi replies in a singsong voice, a faint smile on her face. Eli scoffs and goes over to her plate of cake, smudging off some of the cream and wiping it on Nozomi’s hand. “Elichi! What was that for?”

“Punishment,” Eli only answers with a grin, trying to move her head away even as Nozomi tries to reach over to put the frosting on her face.

“You’re wasting your precious chocolate frosting!”

“There’s still a lot of cake though,” Eli answers with a grin. Just as Nozomi’s hand is about to touch her face, she grabs it and swipes her tongue over the frosting. Nozomi giggles at the ticklish sensation–

A sharp gasp makes her remember that they aren’t alone this year, as she looks over everyone. Umi is muttering to herself and refusing to look at them, Maki is rolling her eyes but her face is red, and everyone else is watching them with rapt attention. Eli swears she can see stars in Kotori and Hanayo’s eyes. In the doorway is Nico with a disgusted look on her face.

“I leave for only a few minutes and you guys are already so… _ugh._ ” Nico throws her hands up. “There’s still children in here!”

“Nico-chan, why did you stop at the door, what’s going on, nya!?” Rin’s voice pipes up from behind Nico.

“… oops,” Eli says though she still doesn’t let go of Nozomi’s hand. “It’s my birthday though, could you overlook it just this once?” she asks with a playful wink. Nozomi snorts above her, trying not to laugh. Nico glares at them but rolls her eyes, storming into the room.

“Ugh, fine, you can go traumatize Umi and Maki for all I care then.”

Maki whirls to Nico, snapping. “Why am I being included?!”

Nozomi and Eli watch the rest of their friends argue about who can handle public affection or not. It’s an odd topic to be arguing about but the attention is mostly off of them for the most part, as Eli tightens her hand around Nozomi and feels her reciprocate in kind.

It’s been an interesting birthday but she thinks she wouldn’t ask for anything else.


	44. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

“Elichi.”

Eli let out a startled yelp and flailed around. Next to her, Nozomi laughed, watching Eli out of the corner of her eyes.

“N-Nozomi, when did you get there?” Eli asked, breathless from being snapped out of her thoughts. She looked out to where the rest of the group was, still chatting amongst one another. She remembered Nozomi being there but now she was here, for whatever reason.

“I just wanted to come check up on you,” Nozomi spoke up, answering her unspoken question. She followed Eli’s gaze, looking out toward their friends. “Elichi, do you know how you look when you watch them?”

“A-ah?” Eli’s eyes darted back and forth between Nozomi and their friends. “What do you mean?”

“You start off looking confused, like there’s something you don’t quite understand. Then you laugh to yourself and there’s a smile on your face afterward. It’s like you’re wondering whether you’re their friend or their mom.”

“Is… is that so.” Eli shook her head, turning to look at Nozomi. “Then, does that–” and her words died down. Nozomi was close now, smiling knowingly at her.

“And… I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice,” Nozomi said, her voice low.

Eli stiffened up, not even daring to breathe as Nozomi continued to smile at her. Nozomi’s smiles meant many things but here, now, Eli didn’t know what it meant. Was Nozomi teasing her, or was she hiding behind that smile as she always did?

She hoped it was her imagination but it felt as if Nozomi was leaning even closer. Eli remained frozen, unable to do anything under Nozomi’s stare.

A finger playfully tapped her nose and Nozomi was now in front of her, snickering behind her hand. “Just kidding.” She turned on her heels, stretching her arms above her head. “We should get back to–”

“Nozomi!”

Nozomi paused but she didn’t turn around, waiting. Eli stared at her back, her hand hovering in the air, torn between wanting to pull Nozomi back or… or…

“Nozomi, you’re… you’re not exactly wrong,” she spoke slowly, “I… I do–”

“Break over!” Umi announced loudly with a clap, startling the both of them. “We have a lot to do!”

“… I’ll talk to you later, Elichi,” Nozomi only said, jogging over to the rest of their friends before Eli could say anything.

Eli let her hand fall back down to her side, clenching it into a fist for a brief second before running to join up with everyone, realizing she had missed her chance once again.


	45. “You did all of this for me?”

When Nozomi came home, the last thing she expected to hear was lots of cursing and swearing, and some Russian she didn’t understand. There was a loud shout along with the pounding of feet, and then Eli was in front of her, smiling nervously.

“N-N-Nozomi! You’re home so early today!” Eli greeted breathlessly. Her eyes went back and forth between Nozomi and their living room.

“… Elichi, were you doing something?” Nozomi asked, playful smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“No!” Eli shouted immediately, shaking her head. “Of course not! But, uh, let me… uh…” She tried to subtly inch backward, as if she was actually doing a very good job of sneaking. Nozomi only raised an eyebrow at her and took a step forward.

“Stay there real quick! Five minutes!” Eli shouted in a panicky voice. She took another step backward before rushing ahead instead, hands on Nozomi. “Uh, I mean, you can go change.”

“Elichi, what are you–” but Eli didn’t relent this time, pushing her into their room and slamming the door.

“Don’t come out until I tell you!” Eli shouted before running away. Nozomi let out a breath that was both a sigh and a laugh, shaking her head.

Minutes later, after changing into more comfortable clothes, Nozomi stood waiting in their room. She wanted to come out but respected Eli’s wishes, staying put. It wasn’t long before Eli opened the door, nodding at her. It was easy to tell that Eli was excited about something, and Nozomi was eager to find out what, as Eli took her hand and led her over to their living room.

There, all across the wall, were various lines of wires hung up on the wall with pins and clips, photographs hanging from them. Most of the pictures were of themselves but there were also a few with all their friends. Nozomi walked up to it, completely awed. Her eyes caught on one photograph and she reached out to it. “This… this is when we went on vacation with Arisa,” she whispered, smiling fondly as she recalled the memory. She looked over another picture, one with nothing but chaos and a widely grinning Umi in the center of it all. “And this is Nico’s birthday event when we accidentally gave Umi-chan too much alcohol…”

“I wanted to set it up and see if you would notice when you came home, but you sort of ruined that surprise,” Eli grumbled as she wrapped an arm around Nozomi.

“You… you did all of this for me?” Nozomi whispered, still unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Um, well, for you, and for us too, I guess,” Eli mumbled, sounding embarrassed now. Nozomi slowly looked over at Eli, still incredulous. A moment passed and she let out a shaky breath of laughter, leaning against Eli. “So, er, do you like it?” Eli asked, the smile on her face telling her she already knew what Nozomi wanted to say, not that she could when all she could do was let out a choked sob.


	46. “You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.”

“Elichi,” Nozomi pleaded weakly, “Elichi, please don’t do this.”

A weak groan answered her plea. Nozomi bit her lip, trying her best to fight against the panic rising in her. She reached out and shook Eli, hoping, _praying,_ for a miracle, right now.

“Elichi,” she tried again, even whimpering pitifully. Desperation and exhaustion had broken her down and she no longer cared how she sounded. “Please, _please,_ you need to wake up because… because I can’t do this without you.”

Eli made a sound and began to stir. Nozomi held her breath, waiting. It seemed as if an eternity passed but still, Eli’s eyes remained closed. Nozomi’s eyes watered and she swiped at them furiously, trying not to cry from the sudden uselessness she felt. The feeling quickly passed however, turning into irritation and frustration, as she truly began to feel the hours of lost sleep and the panic of deadlines hitting her all at once in this moment. She grabbed Eli’s shoulder and shook her roughly, growling. 

“Elichi, we promised to stay awake together to help each other study for finals, _wake up!”_


	47. “Wanna dance?”

“We’re going out tonight,” Eli announces the moment she gets back from classes. Nozomi looks up from where she’s sitting at their table with a wry smile. Eli hasn’t even taken off her shoes yet and looks absolutely silly standing in their doorway with a wide grin on her face.

“Oh? What’s the special occasion tonight?” Nozomi calls out teasingly.

“Nothing, just felt like it,” Eli responds just as playfully. She finally takes off her shoes and quickly slips on house slippers, sliding over to Nozomi. She bends down and puts her hands right under Nozomi’s arms, trying to lift her. “Come on! Let’s go!”

“Elichi, I’m studying right now, can’t it wait?” Nozomi resists Eli’s tugs and tries to bring her down instead.

“No,” Eli immediately responds with a pout.

Nozomi can’t quite do anything when Eli is being so silly and insistent. “At least let me change then?”

“Okay fine.” Eli lets go before patting her lightly on the arm. “Hurry up! Or I’ll drag you there myself!”

“Elichi, you’re so impatient! As they say, patience is–”

“Nozomi!” Eli whines.

“Going!”

Within minutes, Nozomi is dressed and not even a word comes out before Eli takes her arm and tugs her to the door. Nozomi only lets out a quiet laugh and lets herself be dragged. Just for today, she’ll let Eli take her around. After all, she’s always the one who gets the most excited during these occasions, but Nozomi would be lying if she said she isn’t excited for what Eli has in store today.

Dinner is at Nozomi’s favorite restaurant, a place predictably full of grilled meats.

“I love this place, but I was thinking you’d go for something more romantic,” Nozomi comments with a raised eyebrow.

Eli smiles sheepishly. “I had some other restaurants in mind but I wasn’t able to check them out first myself. But we can indulge for today and get a little more than usual!”

“I won’t complain about that,” Nozomi says with a content sigh as she lays more meat onto the grill.

After dinner, the pace is slower than before but Eli is still trying to tug on Nozomi to pull her along.

“We aren’t done yet?” Nozomi teases.

“Not just yet,” Eli says with a secretive grin. Nozomi really wonders what Eli has planned for the rest of the night, to be so excited. Letting out a sigh for the show of it, Nozomi lets herself be dragged around once more, leaning against Eli’s arm. Nozomi is more than content to wander around aimlessly by Eli’s side. There isn’t anything better in the world than the time they have to themselves right now, she feels. She lets her eyes close slightly, trusts Eli will keep her safe.

“Ah, here!” Sadly, Eli’s voice brings her back to the present. Nozomi looks up.

A Maki on her phone looks back up at her. Her face looks like a cross between impatience and boredom. Nozomi is too surprised to say anything but Eli grins and waves at her. “Sorry for being a little late. Were you waiting long?”

Maki doesn’t answer right away, only shrugs her shoulders and quickly puts her phone away. “Whatever, it’s fine,” she says, “remember what you promised me.” With that, she leaves to go inside.

Eli nods and gestures for Nozomi to follow after her. “Yeah, I won’t forget. Thanks so much for this.”

“Elichi? What are we doing?” Nozomi asks, glancing all around. Eli only shushes her with a smile that barely hides her excitement.

“Almost there, just a little more,” she whispers. They enter into an elevator with Maki and within seconds, the doors close and they ascend. Eli and Maki chat with each other, Nozomi listening in but keeping silent. It takes a while but before long, the elevator comes to a stop. Maki strolls through without a second thought and Eli tugs on Nozomi to get her to move.

They follow Maki down a hallway and they stop into a doorway. “Here,” Maki says, taking out a key from her pocket and unlocking the door. She peeks in before turning to look at them, nodding and stepping into the room.

Eli’s hand grips Nozomi’s and they both step through the door.

The room inside is bare save for a grand piano in the corner, not that Nozomi can make out much with the room dimly lit. What grabs her attention though, is the glass window that makes up for one of the walls. Nozomi is stepping over to it before she even realizes, awed. Below them are the lights of the city, bright and mesmerizing. Above them is the moon and stars, shining through the room.

“It’s… it…”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Eli finishes for her, whispering in her ear as she hugs her from behind.

“I… just, how? What?”

“That’s why Maki’s here,” Eli explains with a chuckle and Nozomi understands. She holds Nozomi’s tighter, leans down to press a kiss to the side of her head. “Happy anniversary.”

“I… my present for you is back at h-home,” Nozomi mumbles, suddenly feeling shy. “It’s… it’s not as… extravagant as–”

“That’s fine,” Eli murmurs with a quiet hum, “we have all the time in the world anyway.”

Nozomi feels a knot form inside of her at those words. It’s a tight feeling and she feels like she’ll burst if she doesn’t do something. Tears prick at the corners of her eyes and Nozomi is wishing she didn’t feel so emotional right now. 

The sounds of a piano drift over to her. Maki is sitting down at the bench and pressing the keys, her head bobbing a slow rhythm. She pauses then, gives a quick glance to Eli before starting a song, soft and slow. Eli slides her hand up Nozomi’s body to gently take her hand and she steps away, eyes never leaving Nozomi.

“Nozomi, would you like to dance?” 

Nozomi only smiles and lets Eli take the lead once more for the night.


	48. “I’m pregnant.”

Eli pauses slightly in the middle of her sentence when she feels the vibration against her leg. She finishes speaking first before reaching into her bag next to her to grab her phone. 

A message from Nozomi. 

She checks it real quick, just to see if Nozomi might need her to pick up something before she heads home. 

_“Elichi, I’m pregnant,”_ the message reads. 

Eli only rolls her eyes and doesn’t even bother typing a message back, moving her finger over to the lock button. 

Her chat with Nozomi suddenly moves and a glance shows Nozomi’s sent a picture. Sighing to herself, Eli looks down at it–her eyes bulge. 

“What? What happened?” Nico asks, nosily trying to glance over the table to see what has Eli’s attention. 

“N-N-Nozomi, she’s… she’s…” Eli stammers uselessly, pointing at her phone. Nico rolls her eyes and gets up from her seat to sit next to Eli, glancing down at her phone. 

There’s a picture of a pregnancy test, with positive results. Eli is sputtering, hands shaking. “N-Nico, Nozomi’s… Nozomi is…” 

Nico growls as she slaps Eli on the head. “You’re both girls, dammit!” 

Eli slowly looks at her as if she’s said the most mind-blowing thing ever. “I knew that! Of course, there’s no way. Silly Nozomi, just teasing me again like she always is.” She lets out a goofy smile, suddenly relieved.

Nico closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths.


	49. "Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…"

* * *

“T-there! There’s a bus stop over there!”

Nozomi and Eli raced for it, doing their best to cover themselves as much as as they could from the pouring rain. They slid inside, feeling relieved

“Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…” Eli sighed, shaking out the water from her hair. “How long do you think it’ll keep raining for?”

Nozomi tried to stick her head out as much as she could from the awning, looking up at the sky. Even with the sky already so gloomy, Nozomi swore that in the few minutes it had started pouring to them running for cover, the clouds had gotten even darker than before. “It might be a long while before the rain stops. Should we just risk running home?”

“Hm… let’s just wait a bit I guess. If anything, we’ll just have to find a store and buy umbrellas,” Eli said. Nozomi hummed in agreement, leaning back into the cover, standing next to Eli. She watched the rain fall, looking up toward the sky first before trailing her eyes down. After watching for a while, she took her phone out, checking the time.

Five minutes. Nozomi sighed. This was getting no where. Ah, but maybe…

She glanced over at her friend. Eli was watching the rain with impatience, her arms crossed and foot tapping against the pavement. Nozomi let out a quiet laugh, returning her gaze back to the rain. It was starting to feel even colder, with the water uncomfortably sticking to both them and their clothes. And time was going so slow!

She waited for a few more seconds before darting out into the rain.

“N-Nozomi! What are you doing?! Get back inside!” Eli shouted, holding her hand out.

“We were already drenched anyway! Nothing more is gonna hurt us!” she shouted back. “C'mon and join me, Elichi!”

“Nozomi!” She ignored Eli’s shouts, spinning all around with her arms spread out. She stopped moving then, looking up at the sky as the rain poured on her. Adrenaline running out now, she began to feel her body shivering, a strong urge to wrap her arms around her body. Even so, she felt very calm.

Her sight went dark before a splash of water smacked her face. Nozomi sputtered, coughing. She turned around, finding Eli glowering at her.

“Seriously, Nozomi.” Eli sighed loudly, shaking her head. “Why’d you go and do that for? Umi’s going to yell at us if we get sick.”

“It’s so boring waiting inside for the rain to clear up, isn’t it?” Nozomi grabbed Eli’s hands and began to whirl them around, laughing. Eli shouted for her to stop but once she realized Nozomi had absolutely no intention of doing so, a change came over her. She unexpectedly pulled Nozomi forward, putting an arm around her while keeping one pair of their hands together. Suddenly forced to step to Eli’s rhythm now, Nozomi stumbled. Before long though, she began to match Eli’s steps.

Even with the rain pouring all around them, their clothes and even down to their undergarments all drenched, footing so slippery from the water that they were dangerously close to falling flat onto the ground, they lost track of time.

“So? Why did you really run out here?” Eli asked even as they continued to move all over. Nozomi looked up, her usual smile on.

“I just thought… if I ran out here, would you chase after me?”

Eli paused. Nozomi stopped with her. They stared at each other. The rain poured all over them. Their hands were still gripped tight.

“Of course I would, why wouldn’t I?” Eli answered easily, as if the thought she would do otherwise had never occurred to her. Nozomi stared at her for a moment before she let out a breath, chuckling at herself for being silly. 

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” she said, her voice quiet. Before Eli could respond, Nozomi jerked her forward and began to lead them into a new rhythm. Eli yelped and nearly slipped but quickly caught herself and followed along, the both of them grinning at each other before long. 

Despite everything, Nozomi never felt more warm than now.


	50. Loud, so everyone can hear (the way you said I love you)

Eli freezes up when she hears the sudden loud declaration echoing through the hallways. Surprise turns into horrified realization and she slowly covers her face, a flush creeping across her face. The door to the student council room opens and Nozomi skips in, a grin on her face. “Hey, did you just hear what I–” 

“ _Yes_.” 

Nozomi saunters right up to her, coy smile on her lips. “Well? What did you think?” 

“W-what did I think?!” Eli’s voice is shrill with mortification as she stares incredulously at Nozomi. “You just–” 

The door bursts open again. Rin and Nico appear, with Rin grinning and Nico looking oddly impressed. “Wow, Nozomi, I can’t believe you actually did it. I guess you _really_ wanted to be treated out to yakiniku.”

“ _What?!”  
_

Nozomi sticks her tongue out and quickly darts away to join Rin and Nico. “Aw, you weren’t supposed to tell her that. Hurry up and finish your work so you can join us! You can thank me later for the free food!” And just as quickly as she came, Nozomi is gone.

Though Eli now knows it was said in teasing, the words still make her heart race more than they should.


	51. When I am dead (the way you said I love you)

By the time Eli completely stills, Nozomi has already long known it is only a matter of time. She lets out a small laugh instead, glancing over at the still warm body sleeping peacefully against her shoulder.

“Elichi… how unfair of you to leave me behind first.” 

Nozomi leans over, pressing a kiss against the lines of Eli’s forehead. She teased her about them, telling her it was all from their high school days where she had nothing but a furrowed brow, but Eli had always shaken her head and answered that they were from dealing with Nozomi for so long. 

Nozomi reaches out with her tiny hand, taking Eli’s still hand and threads their bony fingers together, squeezing with all the strength she has left. 

Closing her eyes one last time, she lets out a final whisper. “Wait for me, I’ll be there soon. I know how lonely you get, after all…“


	52. With no space left between us (the way you said I love you)

Nozomi’s room is dark save for the nightlight near the foot of the bed and the moonlight shining on them through the window. The way Nozomi grips her hand and purposely plays with her clothes with the other is also more than enough to distract her from Eli’s fears for the moment.

“Elichi, it’s getting late, shouldn’t you be getting home?” 

Eli cranes her head to where her phone is on Nozomi’s stand but it isn’t as if she can move for it anyway, not with Nozomi bearing all of her weight down on her right now. She doesn’t mind though, she feels far too comfortable to even lift a finger. 

“I could stay over tonight,” Eli murmurs. 

“Oh?” Nozomi’s voice is playful. “Can’t get enough of me, can you?” 

“… the reason I can’t move is because you’re on me, you know that right?”

“Do you want me to get off?” 

A moment passes before Eli gives her answer, a squeeze of her hand. Nozomi answers in kind, pressing back.

Their hands remain tightly clasped, and nothing else is said.


	53. Too quick, mumbled into your scarf (the way you said I love you)

“It’s snowing!”

Before Nozomi can even blink, Eli is dashing ahead of her, spreading her arms out and spinning around. Nozomi is too stunned to even speak, watching Eli skip all around without a care in the world, grinning up at the sky.

She’s too busy staring and watching Eli that she doesn’t quite realize how far ahead Eli already is. “Nozomi!” Eli shouts, waving excitedly and beckoning for her to hurry and come.

Nozomi pulls up her scarf, scrambling to catch up with Eli. Right before she reaches her though, her legs slip out, and Nozomi instinctively braces herself, closing her eyes tightly.

The fall doesn’t come, and when Nozomi opens her eyes, Eli is in front of her, a lopsided smile on her face. “You okay?”

And Nozomi widens her eyes instead, mumbling out the words she’s always kept deep inside: “I love you.”

The air changes. Eli’s smile drops and her eyes widen. Nozomi thinks this is it, she’s done for. She wasn’t meant to say this aloud, not here, not now. And Eli only blinks at her before letting out an equally quiet murmur, “Nozomi, you’ve been quiet for a while. You’re not really hurt, are you?”

Nozomi can’t help the sigh of relief afterward.


	54. A taunt, with one eyebrow raised and a grin bubbling at your lips (the way you said I love you)

Eli’s head shot up at her so fast that Nozomi was mildly concerned she had given herself whiplash. But Eli’s eyes remained trained on her, following every motion she made. “What… what was that?” Eli asked, voice dangerously low.

“Elichi, I know you heard me,” Nozomi called out in a singsong voice. She held up the nondescript box in her hands, her lips forming a challenging smirk. “My parents were apparently overseas in Europe and sent me some chocolate from there… but you know how I don’t really enjoy it too much, so maybe I’ll just have to throw them–” 

Within a single second, Eli immediately closed the distance between them, eyes narrowing in on the box. Knowing Eli could pull it out of her hands if she tried to raise it higher, Nozomi brought it back down and held onto it firmly with two hands. She met Eli’s eyes, wagging her eyebrows. “I’ll give them to you, if you do just one thing for me…” 

Without even voicing her request, Eli uttered the words Nozomi wanted to hear, her voice completely sincere as she spoke. “I love you.” 

As it always did, Nozomi’s heart sped up with the words and her breath hitched, just for an instant. But she stepped away instead, pouting at Eli’s heartbroken look. 

“Can you at least look at _me_ when you say that?”


	55. dizzy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3-5 sentence prompt

It is long into the night when Nozomi slowly rises to her feet, turns to Eli with a lazy grin, and holds out her hand in an invitation. With a quick search through her phone for a proper song first, Eli takes Nozomi’s hand after and they soon fall into an easy rhythm with each other as they often do, swaying around their living room with practiced ease. Eli begins to feel that familiar feeling take over as she focuses solely on Nozomi, turning lightheaded and giddy, almost dizzy with the intensity of what she feels.

Even here, in their small apartment they’ve squeezed into to save money, where their light hangs low from the ceiling and their decades old fridge is always faintly humming in the background, where they aren’t sure what tomorrow will bring except each other, Eli would never want to be anywhere else unless Nozomi is there.


End file.
